Kirsty Coventry was elected the new president of the International Olympic Committee on Thursday.
Coventry, 41, becomes the first woman and the first African appointed president of the IOC.
“It is a sign that we are truly global,” Coventry said about his choice.
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Kirsty Coventry reacts after she was announced as the new COI president at the 144th Session of the International Olympic Committee in Costa Navarino, Greece, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanssis Stavrakis)
Coventry, twice Olympic swimming gold medalist, won in the first voting round among seven candidates voted by 97 members of the IOC. Coventry obtains an eight -year mandate that extends until 2033.
The voters of the Exclusive Guest Club of COI members include members of the Royal Family, former legislators and diplomats, business leaders, sports officials and Olympic athletes.
A candidate was not expected to be elected in the first round. Several rounds were predicted. Coventry received the exact majority of the 49 necessary votes.
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Kirsty Coventry laughs during a press conference after the new COI president was elected at the 144th Session of the International Olympic Committee in Costa Navarino, Greece, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanssis Stavrakis)
Others in the race were four presidents of the sports government bodies: Sebastian Coe of Track and Field, Johan Eliasch de Esquí, David Lappartient de Cycling and Morinari Watanabe de Gymnastics. The Feisal Prince to Jordan Hussein is also affirmed.
“I will make them all very, very proud and, hopefully, it is extremely sure in the decision he has made,” Coventry said in his acceptance speech. “Now we have some work together.”
Coventry was Zimbabwe Sports Minister, and the outgoing president of the IOC, Thomas Bach, had advocated because she was her successor.
The president of the IOC, Thomas Bach, has the name of Kirsty Coventry, since it is announced as the new president of the IOC in the 144th session of the International Olympic Committee in Costa Navarino, Greece, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanssis Stavrakis)
Coventry will formally replace his mentor Bach in a delivery on June 23, which is the Olympic day, as the tenth president of the IOC in his 131 years of history. Bach reached the maximum of 12 years in office.
Coventry won consecutive titles in the 200 -meter back at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games and in Beijing four years later. He joined the IOC in 2013, almost a year after a disputed choice of athletes at the London Olympic Games.
