Zimbabwean swimmer Kirsty Coventry has been elected as president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), becoming the first woman to hold the role in the organisation’s 131-year history.
At the 144th IOC session in Greece, Coventry emerged victorious to replace Thomas Bach. The contest had been expected to go through multiple rounds of voting, but Coventry won 49 of the 97 votes in the first round, giving her an immediate majority.
Coventry is also the first African to become IOC president, and at 41-years-old, she’ll be the youngest ever elected. With her new position, she’ll be considered the most powerful woman in global sport. She was the only woman among the seven candidates in the race for the position.
An Olympian herself, Coventry won seven medals in swimming, including gold in the 200 metre backstroke at the 2004 Athens and 2008 Beijing Games. She is currently the sports minister of the government of Zimbabwe.
“The young girl who first started swimming in Zimbabwe all those years ago could never have dreamt of this moment,” Coventry said, following her election win.
“I am particularly proud to be the first female IOC president, and also the first from Africa. I hope that this vote will be an inspiration to many people.”
“Glass ceilings have been shattered today, and I am fully aware of my responsibilities as a role model. I will make all of you very, very proud and hopefully extremely confident in the decision you have taken. Now we have got some work together.”
Coventry beat Spain’s Juan Samaranch Jr, who came in second place with 28 votes. She also beat Great Britain’s Sebastian Coe, who was considered one of the front-runners, but instead came third with eight votes.
The remaining votes went to Frenchman David Lappartient, Jordan’s Prince Feisal, Sweden’s Johan Eliasch and Japan’s Moriniari Watanabe.
As for her plans as IOC president, Coventry announced she wanted the committee to be built on unity as she pledged to “move forward”.
“I’m going to sit down with President Bach. We’re going to have a few months for a handover takeover,” she said.
“What I want to focus on is bringing all the candidates together. There were so many good ideas and exchanges over the last six months.
“What is it that we want to focus on in the first six months? I have some ideas, but a part of my campaign was listening to the IOC members and hearing what they have to say and hearing how we want to move together.”
Coventry will replace Bach in the position on June 23 and will serve an eight-year term.