Mumbai: Zimbabwe’s double Olympic swimming champion Kirsty Coventry won a historic election to become the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) first woman president, and the youngest in the 130-year existence of the world’s most powerful sporting organisation.
The 41-year-old Zimbabwe sports minister’s ascension to the post also makes her the first African to be elected to the post.
“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,” a beaming Coventry said in her acceptance speech, after outgoing president Thomas Bach held up a paper with her name in bold letters.
“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,” she said.
Coventry, who has won seven Olympic medals and has been part of IOC since 2013, swept to victory with just one round of voting required as she earned absolute majority, at the 144th IOC Session in Costa Navarino, Greece.
Coventry polled 49 of the 97 votes polled, convincingly beating Spanish IOC vice-president Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr (28 votes) and World Athletics president, Sebastian Coe (8), the other strong contenders.
“This is not just a huge honour but 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 very core. Now we’ve got some work together. This race was an incredible race and it made us better, made us a stronger movement.
Coventry, who will be the 10th IOC president, has been elected for an eight-year term that will run till 2033. Her big early challenge will be guiding the organisation in the build-up and conduct of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, navigating the changed political situation after Donald Trump assumed presidency.
The hosts for the 2036 Olympics will be announced during her tenure. India is hoping to make a successful bid with Ahmedabad earmarked as the main host city.
Former Olympic champion
Coventry is the most decorated Olympian from Africa. Zimbabwe’s Minister of Sport, Art and Recreation has won seven of her country’s eight Olympic medals. She won back-to-back 200m backstroke golds at the 2004 Athens and 2008 Beijing Games. A five-time Olympian, she also won four silver and one bronze. She won seven World Championships gold medals.
Her journey in the IOC began in 2013 as a member of its Athletes’ Commission. She was also the IOC Athlete Representative on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) from 2012-2021 and member of WADA’s Athlete Committee from 2014-2021. The IOC executive board member will take over on June 23, the Olympic Day, from Bach.
Intense build-up
The Harare native was seen as the candidate backed by Bach as she entered the seven-candidate race.
“Forty-nine votes shows a lot of unity,” Coventry later said in an IOC interview. “We have to be united, and work together. We might not always agree, but we have to come together for the betterment of the movement.
“Being an Olympic champion, it speaks volumes when you can truly understand what the athletes are going through. They are at the heart of our movement. It does make a big difference when you’re talking to athletes and understand what their expectations are. Because you have lived it.”
The other candidates in the fray were International Ski Federation president Johan Eliasch, France’s world cycling chief David Lappartient, Japan’s international gymnastics body president Morinari Watanabe, and Jordan’s Prince Feisal al Hussein.
One of the key policies Bach worked on during his 12-year tenure was to bring gender parity in the Olympic movement with the 2024 Paris Olympics handing out an equal number of quotas to men and women. He also worked to provide a better gender balance in the IOC, which has seven women in the executive board.
Bach’s work towards gender equality is reflected in Coventry’s election as his successor.
“Congratulations to Kirsty Coventry on her election as the 10th IOC President,” Bach said after the election results were declared. “I warmly welcome the decision of the IOC members and look forward to strong cooperation, particularly during the transition period. There is no doubt that the future for our Olympic movement is bright and that the values we stand for will continue to guide us through the years to come.”
Coventry’s first major assignment will be the 2026 Winter Olympics that takes place in Milano Cortina, Italy.
