Neymar Scores his 1st Goal since Returning to Santos in Brazil

Neymar of Santos celebrates a goal during a Campeonato Paulista soccer match between Santos and Água Santa, at the Urbano Caldeira Stadium in Santos, Brazil, 16 February 2025.  EPA/GUILHERME DIONIZIO
Neymar of Santos celebrates a goal during a Campeonato Paulista soccer match between Santos and Água Santa, at the Urbano Caldeira Stadium in Santos, Brazil, 16 February 2025. EPA/GUILHERME DIONIZIO
TT

Neymar Scores his 1st Goal since Returning to Santos in Brazil

Neymar of Santos celebrates a goal during a Campeonato Paulista soccer match between Santos and Água Santa, at the Urbano Caldeira Stadium in Santos, Brazil, 16 February 2025.  EPA/GUILHERME DIONIZIO
Neymar of Santos celebrates a goal during a Campeonato Paulista soccer match between Santos and Água Santa, at the Urbano Caldeira Stadium in Santos, Brazil, 16 February 2025. EPA/GUILHERME DIONIZIO

Neymar scored his first goal for Santos since returning to Brazil when he converted a penalty Sunday in a 3-1 win over Sao Paulo-based Água Santa.
Finding the net from the spot in the 14th minute of the Sao Paulo state championship match will provide the 33-year-old star some relief after a tough restart.
Thaciano in the 26th and Guilherme, with an assist by Neymar, in the 70th rounded out the scoring for Santos.
So far, Neymar has not managed to play all 90 minutes in a match for Santos. His performances were below par in the first three games for the club, but he showed some improvement on Sunday as he continues his recovery from a knee injury, The Associated Press reported.
Neymar officially returned to soccer in October after an entire year out.
He confirmed last month that his contract with Saudi club Al-Hilal had been terminated by mutual consent. He had an injury-marred spell at Al-Hilal, where he played only seven matches and scored once.
Neymar has signed a six-month contract with Santos, which he said could be extended later.
In his first professional spell at Santos from 2009 to 2013, he scored 138 goals in 225 official matches.



Coventry Becomes First Woman and First African to Lead IOC

Zimbabwean candidate for the presidency of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Kirsty Coventry reacts after being elected during the 144th IOC Session on the day of the election of the next President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), in Costa Navarino, Greece on March 20, 2025. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)
Zimbabwean candidate for the presidency of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Kirsty Coventry reacts after being elected during the 144th IOC Session on the day of the election of the next President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), in Costa Navarino, Greece on March 20, 2025. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)
TT

Coventry Becomes First Woman and First African to Lead IOC

Zimbabwean candidate for the presidency of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Kirsty Coventry reacts after being elected during the 144th IOC Session on the day of the election of the next President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), in Costa Navarino, Greece on March 20, 2025. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)
Zimbabwean candidate for the presidency of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Kirsty Coventry reacts after being elected during the 144th IOC Session on the day of the election of the next President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), in Costa Navarino, Greece on March 20, 2025. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)

Kirsty Coventry smashed through the International Olympic Committee’s glass ceiling on Thursday to become the organization’s first female and first African president in its 130-year history.
The Zimbabwean swimming great, already a towering figure in Olympic circles, emerged victorious to replace Thomas Bach, securing the top job in world sport and ushering in a new era for the Games.
Coventry needed only one round of voting to clinch the race to succeed Bach, winning an immediate overall majority in the secret ballot with 49 of the available 97 votes, Reuters reported.
She beat Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. into second place, the Spaniard winning 28 votes. Britain’s Sebastian Coe, considered one of the front runners in the days leading up to the vote, came third with eight votes.
The remaining votes went to Frenchman David Lappartient, Jordan’s Prince Feisal, Swedish-born Johan Eliasch, and Japan’s Morinari Watanabe.
"This is not just a huge honor but it is a reminder of my commitment to every single one of you that I will lead this organization with so much pride," a beaming Coventry told her fellow IOC members at the luxury seaside resort in Greece’s southwestern Peloponnese which hosted the IOC Session.
"I will make all of you very, very proud, and hopefully extremely confident with the choice you've taken today, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
"Now we've got some work together and I'd like to thank the candidates -- this race was an incredible race and it made us better, it made us a stronger movement.
"I know from the conversations I've had with every single one of you how much stronger our movement is going to be."
The seven-times Olympic medalist joined the IOC's Athletes’ Commission in 2012, and her election to the top job signals a new era for the IOC, with expectations that she will bring a fresh perspective to pressing issues such as athlete rights, the gender debate, and the sustainability of the Games.
A champion of sport development in Africa, Coventry has pledged to expand Olympic participation and ensure the Games remain relevant to younger generations.
She also inherits the complex task of navigating relations with global sports federations and sponsors while maintaining the IOC’s financial stability, which has relied heavily on its multibillion-dollar broadcasting and sponsorship deals.
As she takes the helm, the global sporting community will be watching closely to see how she shapes the future of the world’s biggest multi-sport organization.