Kirsty Coventry Makes History: Olympic Legend Takes the Helm as IOC President

Kirsty Coventry from Zimbabwe has made history by being elected as the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) during the General Assembly on March 20, 2025. She is the first woman and the first person from Africa to hold this position, succeeding Thomas Bach from Germany.

“This is an extraordinary moment,” Coventry said after her election. “As a nine-year-old girl, I never thought that I would be standing up here one day, getting to give back to this incredible movement of ours. This is not just a huge honour but a reminder that I will lead this organization with so much pride, and I hope to make all of you very proud.”

Coventry won the election in the first round, receiving 49 out of 97 votes, while her competitors, Juan Antonio Samaranch Junior and Sebastian Coe, garnered 28 and 8 votes respectively. At age 41, she is also the youngest president since the IOC’s founder Pierre de Coubertin, who took office at 33.

Coventry is Africa’s most successful female Olympian, having won a gold medal in the 200-meter backstroke at the Athens Olympics in 2004 and another gold in Beijing in 2008, along with four silver medals and one bronze. In total, she has competed in five Olympics and has set multiple world records in swimming.

In her LinkedIn post, she emphasized the significance of her success beyond personal achievement. “None of this is as important as what this success did and can do for others,” she wrote. “It united my country where divisions caused by economic and political turmoil were crippling it and gave hope to people who thought their circumstances prevented them from following their dreams.”

Before her election, Coventry served on the IOC Athletes’ Commission and was a member of the IOC Executive Board. As a prominent figure in African sports, her election raises hopes that the Summer Olympics may one day be hosted on the continent. Though countries like South Africa and Egypt are interested in hosting, Coventry said there is much work to be done to prepare for such an event.

“We need to ensure that we’re working closely with all of these countries that are interested so they fully understand the magnitude of the Olympic Games,” she stated during a Q&A session.

Regarding sensitive issues like the participation of trans women in sports, Coventry said, “100% it is necessary to find a solution,” emphasizing the need for the IOC to take a leadership role. She also touched on the question of Russian and Belarusian athletes competing in the Olympics, noting, “It’s our duty as the IOC to ensure that all athletes can participate at the Games.”

Coventry is a mother of two daughters and speaks about balancing her roles in sports and family. “I think it’s a good way to show that women are just as capable as men, even if we are expected to be full-time mothers, wives, and daughters,” she said. “We still have a lot of work to do, and I am excited about leading this movement. Women are ready to lead. I look at it as an opportunity to push through boundaries so that when my two girls are growing up, they don’t have the same limitations.”

Coventry will officially take office on June 24, 2025, the day after Thomas Bach’s term ends.

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Suparna Rao, Staff Reporter