Kirsty Coventry was elected president. © APA/afp / FABRICE COFFRINI

Premiere: The first female IOC President

Former top swimmer Kirsty Coventry becomes the first woman to head the International Olympic Committee.

March 20, 2025

From: dpa

The 41-year-old from Zimbabwe was elected as the successor to Germany's Thomas Bach at the 144th IOC General Assembly in a Greek resort on the Peloponnese. Coventry is also the first IOC member from Africa to lead the Olympic governing body in its 136-year history.

Coventry prevailed against six other candidates, all men. Previously considered favorites were British International Athletics Federation President Sebastian Coe (68) and Spaniard Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. (65), son of a former IOC president. Coventry was surprisingly confirmed as the new president after the first round of voting. Bach (71) was ineligible for re-election after twelve years and two terms under the rules of the Olympic Charter.

Double Olympic champion and mother of two

In the closed-door vote, Coventry ultimately received the necessary absolute majority. The Zimbabwean Minister of Sport had been tipped in advance as Bach's preferred candidate. She is expected to largely continue Bach's sports policy. "We are different people with different styles," Coventry said before her election.

The mother of two promises more openness and wants to involve IOC members more than was the case under Bach in recent years. "Women are ready to lead. I see this as an opportunity to break down barriers," Coventry said of her bid.

As a swimmer, she won two gold medals at the Olympics and participated in five Summer Games between Sydney 2000 and Rio 2016. In 2013, she joined the IOC, initially as an athlete representative, and in 2018 also as a member of the Executive Committee, where the key decisions were made under Bach.

Taking office in three months

Coventry was not without controversy in her ministerial post in Zimbabwe. A court acquitted her of allegations that she had accepted a farm confiscated from former dictator Robert Mugabe as a gift.

Kirsty Coventry as a swimmer. © APA/afp / MARTIN BUREAU

Coventry will not take over the IOC chairmanship until June 24. Until then, Bach will continue to run the business. Bach stated that he was not happy with the short adjustment period when he took office in 2013. The long transition period is "not something we invented." Such things also occur in governments and large companies.

Trump as an unpredictable Olympic host

Coventry faces greater challenges than he faced at the beginning of his term, Bach recently predicted. The highly tense global political situation and the growing distrust of major institutions are unlikely to leave the IOC unscathed.

Donald Trump's return to the White House presents the IOC with an unpredictable Olympic host for the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles. The impact of climate change on the world of sports, the opportunities and risks of artificial intelligence, and the search for new sources of funding are also likely to keep the Olympic circle very busy.