Two-time Olympic swimming champion Kirsty Coventry has been elected as the 10th President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), becoming the first female to hold the role.
IOC members voted the Zimbabwe native into an eight-year term as IOC President, which she’ll assume on June 24 after Thomas Bach‘s 12-year tenure officially ends.
In addition to becoming the first female, Coventry will become the first African to serve as IOC President, with the previous nine having been men from either Europe or the United States.
Coventry, 41, was voted over fellow presidential candidates Sebastian Coe, Juan Antonio Samaranch Salisachs, Prince Feisel Al Hussein, David Lappartient, Johan Eliasch and Morinari Watanabe.
Coventry, Coe and Samaranch were the three frontrunners heading into Tuesday’s election.
“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.
“The young girl who first started swimming in Zimbabwe all those years ago could never have dreamt of this moment.
“I am particularly proud to be the first female IOC President, and also the first from Africa. 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.”
At 41, Coventry is also the second-youngest president elected, with Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympics, having started his 29-year term at the age of 33 in 1896.
“Sport has an unmatched power to unite, inspire and create opportunities for all, and I am committed to making sure we harness that power to its fullest,” Coventry said.
“Together with the entire Olympic family, including our athletes, fans and sponsors, we will build on our strong foundations, embrace innovation, and champion the values of friendship, excellence and respect. The future of the Olympic Movement is bright, and I can’t wait to get started!”
Mrs Kirsty Coventry has been elected as the 10th President of the International Olympic Committee at the 144th IOC Session in Costa Navarino. pic.twitter.com/Dv8Tfbecf6
— IOC MEDIA (@iocmedia) March 20, 2025
Bach, who served the maximum 12-year term beginning in September 2013, was elected IOC Honorary President for Life on Wednesday.
“Some will say it was such difficult 12 years, and you have made sacrifice,” the 71-year-old said in an address to IOC members. “I didn’t make a single sacrifice in these 12 years. I am grateful that after my career as an athlete, I could continue to live my passion for sport.
“And I’m grateful that you allowed me to give back to sport what I have received from the Olympic Movement. My gold medal has changed my life, and with this office as IOC President, I had the opportunity to help others to change a life, and this is why you see a very happy man.”
Coventry takes over as IOC President despite her home nation, Zimbabwe, being on the fringes of the Olympic Movement and only sending a handful of athletes to the Summer Olympics every four years.
Coventry is responsible for seven of Zimbabwe’s eight Olympic medals in its history, with the other coming in women’s field hockey at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow.
Zimbabwe sent seven athletes to the 2024 Olympics in Paris and just five to the Tokyo Games in 2021 after sending 31 to Rio 2016.
Coventry has been an IOC member since 2013 when she joined the athletes’ commission, and in 2023, she became an elected member of the IOC Executive Committee.
During her competitive career, Coventry was a five-time Olympian, making her debut at the 2000 Games in Sydney before winning Olympic gold in the women’s 200 backstroke in 2004, also earning silver in the 100 back and bronze in the 200 IM in Athens.
She then defended her gold medal in the 200 back at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, adding three more silvers in the 100 back, 200 IM and 400 IM. She also competed at the 2012 Olympics in London and the 2016 Games in Rio before announcing her retirement.
Coventry was also a three-time LC world champion, sweeping the 100 and 200 back in 2005 and then reclaiming the 200 back title in 2009. At the 2008 Short Course World Championships, she won five medals, including four gold in the 100 back, 200 back, 200 IM and 400 IM.
Four of the 10 presidents in IOC history have competed as athletes in the Olympics, including the last three.
IOC PRESIDENTS & OLYMPIC PARTICIPATION
| Number | President | Nationality |
Olympic Experience
|
| 1 | Demetrius Vikelas | Greece | – |
| 2 | Pierre de Coubertin | France | – |
| 3 | Henri de Baillet-Latour | Belgium | – |
| 4 | Sigfrid Edstrom | Sweden | – |
| 5 | Avery Brundage | United States | 1x (athletics) |
| 6 | Michael Morris | Ireland | – |
| 7 | Juan Antonio Samaranch | Spain | – |
| 8 | Jacques Rogge | Belgium | 3x (sailing) |
| 9 | Thomas Bach | Germany | 1x (fencing) |
| 10 | Kirsty Coventry | Zimbabwe | 5x (swimming) |
Coventry will also be the first Olympic swimmer to serve as IOC President.
During her eight-year term, the Summer Olympics will be held in Los Angeles (2028) and Brisbane (2032), while the Winter Games will be hosted in Milan Cortina (2026) and the French Alps (2030).
You can watch the election announcement below:
now make the 50s Olympic please
Add world championships in yard format.
hell no
Russia loving Bach was a disgrace
Great. Can we add the 50s strokes now?
Corrupt and scandalous organization
A capable, strong, smart, decisive woman. Super proud of Kirsty! I’m so happy for her and her family. She will show her two young daughters that you can be a successful leader, mother & wife. Also very happy for her Auburn Family! It is at Auburn where she was pushed to be a teammate and work for something bigger than yourself. War Damn Eagle!!!!!
Needs to advocate for increased roster sizes in swimming with the added events. With the addition of stroke 50s we are looking at a situation where some 2nd place finishers in individual events could be left home.
I just don’t want to see our sport go the way of weightlifting and others where they increase the number of categories but reduce overall spots.
For example, in weightlifting there are 6 weight classes and each nation can only send 3 representatives, so some of the best countries leave 3 gold medal contenders at home. It turns the Olympics into a joke because you have events where 2 of the top 5 in the world aren’t even competing.
Adding the 50s ain’t it tbh. Not worth it
Might as well remove the 50 Free then! As one SS commenter seems to think that it’s “A carnival act” to have them.
Have all 4 or none of them.
But if swimming wants to attract the iPhone, Instagram crowd who don’t normally follow the sport at all except MAYBE during the Olympics when you can almost not avoid it since the “meet” lasts 8 days or whatever, it would seem more likely that they’d watch 50s since they’re fast/rapid-fire events that feature extremely close finishes versus getting them to tune into 800s and 1500s. They ain’t watching those events- 100% certain of that. Nobody gets jammed up over the 10,000M track race but they sure tune into the… Read more »
Excellent. I’ve never forgiven Coe for being a Tory.