Kirsty Coventry Becomes First Female IOC President, Succeeding Thomas Bach

Kirsty Coventry broke the International Olympic Committee’s glass ceiling on Thursday, becoming its first female and African president in 130 years. The Zimbabwean swimming legend defeated Thomas Bach to claim the top position in global sports, marking the start of a new era for the Games.

Coventry won the race to succeed Bach in just one round of voting, securing an immediate majority with 49 out of 97 votes in the secret ballot. She defeated Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr., who garnered 28 votes, while Britain’s Sebastian Coe, once seen as a leading contender, finished third with eight votes.

The other votes were cast for Frenchman David Lappartient, Jordan’s Prince Feisal, Swedish-born Johan Eliasch, and Japan’s Morinari Watanabe.

"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," a beaming Coventry addressed her fellow IOC members at the luxurious seaside resort in Greece’s southwestern Peloponnese, which hosted the IOC Session.

"I will make all of you very, very proud, and hopefully extremely confident with the choice you've taken today, thank you from the bottom of my heart."

"Now we've got some work together and I'd like to thank the candidates -- this race was an incredible race and it made us better, it made us a stronger movement."

"I know from the conversations I've had with every single one of you how much stronger our movement is going to be."

In 2012, the seven-time Olympic medalist became a member of the IOC's Athletes' Commission, and her election to the highest office marks the beginning of a new dawn for the IOC. Expectations will be high about her giving a different outlook on critical issues like athletes' rights, gender equality, and the sustainability of the Games.

Strong advocate for sports development in Africa, Coventry is committed to increasing Olympic participation and relevancy of the Games for younger generations.

She has to deal with issues of interrelationships with global sports federations and sponsors and protect the long-established IOC financial stability that is mainly based on billion-dollar broadcasting and sponsorship deals.

Now that she is taking over, the global sporting world will be watching how she shapes the future of the largest multi-sport organization.