Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe has been elected president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), making history as both the first woman and the first African to hold the top position in world sports
Coventry secured an overall majority in the first round of voting, defeating six other candidates in a surprising outcome.
The 41-year-old succeeds Germany’s Thomas Bach, whose 12-year tenure ends on June 23. She will officially take over as the 10th president in the 131-year history of the IOC the following day.
A two-time Olympic swimming champion and Zimbabwe’s sports minister, Coventry has been an IOC member since 2013. She was reportedly Bach’s preferred successor.
“This is an extraordinary moment,” she said in her first speech after the election. Calling it “a huge honour,” she added, “Thank you from the bottom of my heart, and now we have some work to do.”
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