Zimbabwe’s Kirsty Coventry on Thursday etched her name in the history books as she has been elected the 10th president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Afrosport reports.
The 41-year-old, who was chosen from a secret ballot of seven candidates at the 144th IOC Session in Costa Navarino, Greece, becomes the first woman and first African to serve as IOC president.
Coventry has been elected for an eight-year term, and she replaces outgoing President Thomas Bach, who was initially elected in 2013 before being re-elected in 2021.
“This is an extraordinary moment. As a nine-year-old girl, I never thought I’d be standing up here one day, getting to give back to this incredible movement of ours,” said Coventry at the IOC session.
“This is not just a huge honour but it is a reminder of my commitment to every single one of you that I will lead this organisation with so much pride, with the Values at the core.
“And I will make all of you very, very proud, and hopefully extremely confident in the decision that you have taken today. Now we’ve got some work together. This race was an incredible race and it made us better, made us a stronger Movement.”
The Zimbabwean, who is already on the IOC executive board, won a majority of 49 of the 97 available votes in the first round, beating runner-up Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr, who garnered 28 votes.
Lord Sebastian Coe secured eight votes; France’s David Lappartient and Japan’s Morinari Watanabe earned four votes each, while Prince Feisal al Hussein of Jordan and Sweden’s Johan Eliasch both took two.
Coventry, who is the most decorated Olympian from Africa, will begin her tenure as IOC president on 23 June, Olympic Day.
The former Olympic swimmer and world record holder won seven of Zimbabwe’s eight Olympic medals – including gold in the 200m backstroke at both the 2004 and 2008 Games.
She is currently serving as the Minister of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation in Zimbabwe and will oversee the Olympic Winter Games – Milano Cortina 2026 – as her first Olympic Games, with the event to commence on 6 February 2026.
