Kirsty Coventry was elected president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), securing victory in a high-stakes vote in Greece.
The Zimbabwean needed only one round of voting to clinch the race to succeed Thomas Bach, winning an immediate overall majority in the secret ballot to take the helm of the world’s wealthiest multi-sport organisation.
The 41-year-old becomes the first woman and first African to hold the post.
The former Olympic swimmer, who is Africa’s most decorated Olympian, was declared the winner by Bach, who will officially hand over the reins on June 24th.
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Coventry beat Britain’s Sebastian Coe, Spain’s Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr, Frenchman David Lappartient, Jordan’s Prince Feisal, Swedish-born Johan Eliasch, and Japan’s Morinari Watanabe in the election that had been expected to be a far closer-run affair.
As the new IOC president, Coventry will now be tasked with steering the Olympic Movement into a new era, overseeing future Games and addressing key challenges such as rising costs, geopolitical tensions, and the evolving landscape of global sports governance.
