Zimbabwe’s Kirsty Coventry elected 10th president of IOC

Coventry accepting her new position

1 minute

Zimbabwe’s Kirsty Coventry has been elected the 10th president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Coventry was voted in with an absolute majority in the 144th Session of the IOC in Pylos, Greece and will replace outgoing president Thomas Bach for at least the next eight years.

Kirsty Coventry delivers her acceptance speech after being elected as the 10th President of the International Olympic Committee, and the first female President in IOC history. pic.twitter.com/3BXf9kK0dI

— IOC MEDIA (@iocmedia) March 20, 2025

It took just one round of voting by electronic secret ballot to confirm the former swimmer as the new president of the IOC, making her one of world sport’s most powerful figures.

Coventry, Africa’s most decorated Olympian, with seven medals received more than a 50 percent majority of the 106 votes cast in the session.

Zimbabwe’s 41-year-old sports minister also rewrote the history book by becoming the first woman, the first African and the youngest person to hold the role.