Kirsty Coventry elected 10th IOC President, first woman and first African to lead global Olympic body

Kirsty Coventry has been elected as the 10th President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) during the 144th IOC Session in Costa Navarino, Greece, on Thursday, March 20, 2025.

In a historic achievement, she becomes the first woman and the first African to lead the global Olympic movement, marking a significant milestone in sports leadership.

The Zimbabwean Sports Minister and two-time Olympic swimming gold medalist secured a remarkable first-round victory in a seven-candidate race, winning the support of 97 IOC members on Thursday.

At just 41 years old, she begins an eight-year mandate that will extend into 2033, making her one of the youngest leaders in the IOC’s history.

The President-elect, Coventry will assume office after the handover from President Bach on Olympic Day, 23 June.

President Bach, who remains in the role until then, will also resign as an IOC Member after the transfer of power and will then assume the role of Honorary President.

"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," President-elect Coventry told the Session in her acceptance speech.

"This is not just a huge honour but it 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 core. And I will make all of you very, very proud, and hopefully extremely confident in the decision that you have taken today. Now we've got some work together. This race was an incredible race and it made us better, made us a stronger Movement," she added.

She will oversee the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 as her first Olympic Games, with under 11 months to go to the Opening Ceremony.

Walking to the podium, she was congratulated and kissed on both cheeks by Juan Antonio Samaranch, her expected closest rival who got 28 votes. Third-placed Sebastian Coe got just eight.

Also in the race were four presidents of sports governing bodies: Track and field's Sebastian Coe, skiing's Johan Eliasch, cycling’s David Lappartient, and gymnastics' Morinari Watanabe. Also contending was Prince Feisal al Hussein of Jordan.

Coventry will formally replace her mentor Bach on June 23 — officially Olympic Day — as the 10th IOC president in its 131-year history. Bach reached the maximum 12 years in office.

Key challenges for the 41-year-old Coventry will be steering the Olympic movement through political and sporting issues toward the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles, including engaging in diplomacy with U.S. President Donald Trump.

Coventry’s IOC will also need to find a host for the 2036 Summer Games which could go to India or the Middle East.

The strongest candidates in a five-month campaign with tightly controlled rules drafted by the Bach-led IOC seemed to be Coventry — who gave birth to her second child — IOC vice president Samaranch and Coe.

Samaranch tried to follow his father, also Juan Antonio Samaranch, who was the IOC’s seventh president from 1980 to 2001.

Coe aimed to add to a remarkable career of Olympic triumphs: A two-time Olympic gold medalist in the 1,500 meters, he led a bidding team for the 2012 London Olympics, then worked for the next seven years to head the organizing team of those widely praised Games.

It has been a stellar week for Bach, who greeted Coventry and shared warm smiles after her acceptance speech.

Bach was feted on Wednesday in an emotional start to the IOC annual meeting, getting lavish praise and the title of honorary president for life.

His hands-on executive-style presidency will deliver over a financially secure IOC, on track to earn more than $8 billion in revenue through the 2028 LA Olympics, and with a slate of future hosts through 2034: in Italy, the United States, France, Australia and finally the U.S. again, when the Winter Games return to Salt Lake City.