Costa Navarino, Greece: Kirsty Coventry has been elected as the 10th President of the IOC, making history as the first woman and the first African to hold this position.
She won the election with 49 out of 97 votes in the first round during the 144th IOC Session on Thursday.
A former Olympic swimmer from Zimbabwe, Coventry is Africa’s most decorated Olympian, having earned seven medals, including two golds in the 200m backstroke at the 2004 and 2008 Games.
She succeeds Thomas Bach, who served as president for 12 years, and will officially take office on June 23, 2025, for an eight-year term.
Her election marks a significant shift for the IOC, bringing a perspective shaped by her athletic career and her experience as Zimbabwe’s Minister of Youth, Sport, Arts, and Recreation since 2018.
Coventry has outlined priorities like expanding Olympic participation, ensuring relevance for younger generations, and navigating complex issues such as transgender athlete policies and geopolitical tensions.
Notably, she has expressed support for a potential blanket ban on transgender women in female Olympic events, aligning with some international federations’ calls for clearer IOC leadership on the matter.
