Breaking News! Zimbabwe Former Athlete Kristy Coventry Becomes First Female IOC President

Olympic gold medalist and Zimbabwean minister of sports Kirsty Coventry has become the new International Olympics Committee President.

She becomes the first woman and first African to attain the position beating all other six contenders to win on the first ballot. 

Kirsty Coventry was elected 10th IOC President at 144th IOC Session in Greece and will assume office after a handover on 23 June, for an eight-year term of office.

The 41-year-old Zimbabwean was chosen in a secret ballot of seven candidates at the 144th IOC Session being held in Costa Navarino, Greece, on Thursday (20 March), for an eight-year term of office.

President-elect Coventry replaces outgoing President Thomas Bach, who was first elected in 2013 and re-elected in 2021after she received 49 votes in the first round, exactly the number required for a majority from the 97 votes cast.

She will be the first woman and the first African to serve as IOC President.

President-elect Coventry told the Session in her acceptance speech, "This is an extraordinary moment. As a nine-year-old girl I never thought I'd be standing up here one day, getting to give back to this incredible Movement of ours," 

"This is not just a huge honour but it is a reminder of my commitment to every single one of you that I will lead this organisation with so much pride, with the Values at the core. And I will make all of you very, very proud, and hopefully extremely confident in the decision that you have taken today. Now we've got some work together. This race was an incredible race and it made us better, made us a stronger Movement."

She will oversee the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 as her first Olympic Games, with under 11 months to go to the Opening Ceremony.