Kirsty Coventry was elected as first female International Olympic Committee president on Thursday following just a single session of voting in Navarino, Greece.
Coventry, 41, is the tenth president in IOC history and will take over after Thomas Bach leaves office in June after 12 years.
“I am incredibly honored and excited to be elected as President of the International Olympic Committee! I want to sincerely thank my fellow members for their trust and support,” Coventry said in a statement. “The young girl who first started swimming in Zimbabwe all those years ago could never have dreamt of this moment.”
As the first IOC president from Africa, Coventry was not seen as the favorite to win the election and faced off against a group that included Feisal Al Hussein, David Lappartient, Johan Eliasch, Juan Antonio Samaranch, Sebastian Coe and Morinari Watanabe. Coe, the current head of World Athletics, was viewed as a strong contender and lobbied heavily for the position in recent months.
“It’s a disappointing result,” Coe said. “It’s clear that the athletes, and in particular the female athletes, voted for Kirsty in very great numbers.”
Thursday’s election was expected to extend into five rounds, but Coventry won 49 of 97 eligible votes and signaled that she had enough support to claim the majority ballot. Samaranch was second with 28 votes, while Coe received only eight votes. The ballot is conducted by a secret vote and presidential terms are eight years.
“I am particularly proud to be the first female IOC President, and also the first from Africa,” Coventry said. “I hope that this vote will be an inspiration to many people. Glass ceilings have been shattered today, and I am fully aware of my responsibilities as a role model.”
Coventry will take office as questions about several global issue will be thrust to the forefront regarding gender identity in sports, the burden of economic investment Olympic host cities commit to each Games and major armed conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine.
Before her tenure as an IOC member, Coventry put Zimbabwe on the Olympic stage after she won seven of the nation’s eight total medals as a swimmer. She competed in five Olympics, winning two gold, four silver and a bronze — all during Athens in 2004 and Beijing in 2008.
For now, the focus is on the aftermath of the buzz of Thursday’s election and what the vision for the IOC will be in the wake of Bach’s departure in three months.
I warmly welcome the decision of the IOC Members and look forward to strong cooperation, particularly during the transition period,” Bach said in a statement. “There is no doubt that the future for our Olympic Movement is bright and that the values we stand for will continue to guide us through the years to come.”
