Tommy Sithole

Tommy Sithole was a basketball player in his youth. He became a sports journalist, covering Olympic Games, World Cups, and Commonwealth Games, among many other events. In 1980 he was made editor-in-chief of Zimbabwe Newspapers, Ltd. He would later serve that group as their chair, beginning in 2019. In 1983 he was chosen as the first Black editor of The Chronicle, a popular newspaper in Zimbabwe.

Sithole was an active member of the Zimbabwe Air Force and became director of Air Zimbabwe. In 1982 he was elected as President of the Zimbabwean Olympic Committee. He also served in executive positions with the Confederation of Southern African National Olympic Committees, the Association of the Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA), and the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC). Sithole led the organizing committee for the 6th All-African Games in Zimbabwe in 1985.

Sithole was co-opted onto the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1996. He served until 2003 and was on the Executive Board in 2002-03. He stepped down as an IOC Member when President Jacques Rogge asked him to take over the position of Director of International Cooperation and Development for the IOC. Sithole spent 12 years in that position (2003-14), which also led him to become a deputy representative for the IOC at the United Nations.