Kirsty Coventry elected as new president International Olympic Committee Thursday.
Coventry, 41, becomes the first woman and the first African president IOC.
“This is a real global signal for us,” Coventry said of her election.
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Kirsty Coventry responded after being declared the new president of the International Olympic Committee at the 144th session of the International Olympic Committee held in Costa Navarino, Greece on Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Coventry, a two-time Olympic swimming gold medalist, won the first round of seven candidates voted by 97 IOC members. Coventry received an eight-year mission that lasts until 2033.
Voters of the IOC exclusive club members include royals, former lawmakers and diplomats, business leaders, sports officials and Olympic athletes.
The candidate is expected to be elected in the first round of elections. Predicted several rounds. Coventry received an exact majority of 49 votes.
Kirsty Coventry smiled at a press conference after being elected as the new president of the International Olympic Committee at the 144th session of the International Olympic Committee held in Costa Navarino, Greece on Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Others on the run are four presidents of the athletic governing body: Sebastian Coe of track and field, Johan Eliasch of skiing, David Lapartient of cycling and Morinari Watanabe of gymnastics. And Prince Faisal Al Hussein of Jordan also argued.
“I will make you all very, very proud and hope to be very confident in the decisions you made,” Coventry said in his acceptance speech. “Now we are working together.”
Coventry is Zimbabwe’s sports minister and outgoing IOC president Thomas Bach advocated her as his successor.
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IOC President Thomas Bach announced Kirsty Coventry’s name at the 144th session of the International Olympic Committee held on Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Coventry will officially replace her mentor Bach, Olympic Day, in the handover on June 23, as its 10th International Olympic Committee president. Bach served for up to 12 years.
Coventry won a back-to-back championship in 2004’s 200m backstroke Athens Olympics Four years later in Beijing. She joined the International Olympic Committee in 2013 after a controversial athlete election in London.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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