Kirsty Coventry Becomes First Woman and First African Elected as IOC President
Kirsty Coventry broke the International Olympic Committee's glass ceiling on Thursday, becoming the organization's first female and first African president in its 130-year history. The accomplished swimmer from Zimbabwe, already a prominent...
TroibNews 
Kirsty Coventry broke the International Olympic Committee's glass ceiling on Thursday, becoming the organization's first female and first African president in its 130-year history.
The accomplished swimmer from Zimbabwe, already a prominent figure in Olympic settings, triumphed in the race to replace Thomas Bach, clinching the top position in global sports and heralding a new chapter for the Games.
"It's a really powerful signal," a smiling Coventry remarked as the significance of her victory became clear. "It's a signal that we're truly global, and that we have evolved into an organization that is truly open to diversity, and we're going to continue."
Currently serving as Zimbabwe's Sports Minister, Coventry secured her position after just one round of voting, achieving an overall majority in the secret ballot with 49 out of the 97 available votes.
IOC Vice President Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. took second place, garnering 28 votes, while Great Britain's Sebastian Coe, the World Athletics head, who was seen as a leading contender leading up to the election, finished third with only eight votes.
The remaining votes were distributed among Frenchman David Lappartient, Jordan's Prince Feisal Al Hussein, Sweden-born Brit Johan Eliasch, and Japan's Morinari Watanabe.
"This is not just a huge honor, but it is a reminder of my commitment to every single one of you that I will lead this organization with so much pride," an elated Coventry addressed her fellow IOC members at the upscale seaside resort in Greece's southwestern Peloponnese, where the IOC Session took place. "I will make all of you very, very proud, and hopefully extremely confident with the choice you've taken today, thank you from the bottom of my heart," she continued.
Looking ahead, Coventry emphasized the importance of unity among all candidates. "I'm going to sit down with President Bach. We're going to have a few months for a handover takeover. And what I want to focus on is bringing all the candidates together. There were so many good ideas and exchanges over the last six months," she explained.
"Look at the IOC, and our Olympic Movement and family, and decide how exactly we're going to move forward in the future. What is it that we want to focus on in the first six months? I have some ideas, but a part of my campaign was listening to the IOC members and hearing what they have to say, and hearing how we want to move together."
Navid Kalantari contributed to this article for TROIB News
The accomplished swimmer from Zimbabwe, already a prominent figure in Olympic settings, triumphed in the race to replace Thomas Bach, clinching the top position in global sports and heralding a new chapter for the Games.
"It's a really powerful signal," a smiling Coventry remarked as the significance of her victory became clear. "It's a signal that we're truly global, and that we have evolved into an organization that is truly open to diversity, and we're going to continue."
Currently serving as Zimbabwe's Sports Minister, Coventry secured her position after just one round of voting, achieving an overall majority in the secret ballot with 49 out of the 97 available votes.
IOC Vice President Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. took second place, garnering 28 votes, while Great Britain's Sebastian Coe, the World Athletics head, who was seen as a leading contender leading up to the election, finished third with only eight votes.
The remaining votes were distributed among Frenchman David Lappartient, Jordan's Prince Feisal Al Hussein, Sweden-born Brit Johan Eliasch, and Japan's Morinari Watanabe.
"This is not just a huge honor, but it is a reminder of my commitment to every single one of you that I will lead this organization with so much pride," an elated Coventry addressed her fellow IOC members at the upscale seaside resort in Greece's southwestern Peloponnese, where the IOC Session took place. "I will make all of you very, very proud, and hopefully extremely confident with the choice you've taken today, thank you from the bottom of my heart," she continued.
Looking ahead, Coventry emphasized the importance of unity among all candidates. "I'm going to sit down with President Bach. We're going to have a few months for a handover takeover. And what I want to focus on is bringing all the candidates together. There were so many good ideas and exchanges over the last six months," she explained.
"Look at the IOC, and our Olympic Movement and family, and decide how exactly we're going to move forward in the future. What is it that we want to focus on in the first six months? I have some ideas, but a part of my campaign was listening to the IOC members and hearing what they have to say, and hearing how we want to move together."
Navid Kalantari contributed to this article for TROIB News
