Zimbabwe’s Kirsty Coventry becomes first woman and first African president of International Olympic Committee

Kirsty Coventry, who won two Olympic gold medals in the pool for Zimbabwe, says she is ‘fully aware of my responsibilities as a role model’ as the first woman to become president of the International Olympic Committee. (Photo: Adam Pretty / Getty Images)

By Craig Ray

21 Mar 2025

Seven-time Olympic medallist Kirsty Coventry broke new ground when she was elected the 10th president of the International Olympic Committee on Thursday.

It took only 10 minutes and one round of voting for Zimbabwe’s Kirsty Coventry to be elected to the most powerful administrative and political position in sport.

Coventry won 49 of the 97 available votes in the first ballot to sweep to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) presidency by a landslide.

Coventry (41) beat off the challenges of favourites Juan Antonio Samaranch (28 votes) and Sebastian Coe (eight votes) in the seven-person election to break new ground.

The founder of the modern Olympics, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who was president from 1900–1925, might be proud, or he might be turning in his grave.

An African and a woman taking the IOC’s top job was unthinkable in the late 19th century. De Coubertin never openly opposed the inclusion of women at the birth of the modern Olympics staged in Athens in 1896.

He left it to each Olympic organising committee to decide but, under his presidency, female representation increased.

Coventry has broken new ground 131 years after the IOC’s establishment.

Outsider

Thomas Bach holds paper announcing name of Kirsty Coventry Outgoing IOC president Thomas Bach announces that Kirsty Coventry is the new IOC president on the second day of the 144th IOC Session in Costa Navarino, Greece, on 20 March 2025. (Photo: Milos Bicanski / Getty Images)

Although Coventry has been an IOC member since 2013, hers was a victory for the ultimate outsider, coming into the race with neither massive financial muscle nor storied history within the organisation.

Samaranch, by contrast, has been an IOC member for 24 years and the son of the seventh IOC president of the same name.

Coe, like Coventry, was a decorated Olympic athlete, but he was also a former British MP, the current World Athletics president and the man who delivered a superb 2012 London Olympics.

Coventry, who chaired the Athletes’ Commission, had none of these “credentials”.

It makes her victory more impressive, although there was grumbling that she was outgoing president Thomas Bach’s preferred candidate, and that significant backroom lobbying was done on her behalf.

Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe waves to the crowd after receiving the gold medal for the women's swimming 200 metre backstroke event on 20 August 2004 during the Athens 2004 Summer Olympic Games. (Photo: Shaun Botterill / Getty Images)

Welcome to sports politics

Coventry went into the race as a bit player in the insular IOC establishment.

By comparison, she is a small-town girl from a poor, small country in Africa with very little Olympic success outside of that which she delivered with her seven medals in the swimming pool in 2004 and 2008.

Her parents sold burgers at swimming galas to help pay for her training. She eventually earned a swimming scholarship to Auburn University in the US and went on to win seven Olympic medals, including two golds.

Coventry has consistently advocated for athletes’ right to compete – even when geopolitical tensions threaten participation.

“My country was in crisis in 2004, yet I was able to compete,” she said. “I think about where I’d be if I hadn’t had that chance. Athletes shouldn’t be punished for the actions of their governments.

“Whether it’s wars in Europe, the Middle East or ongoing conflicts in Africa, we must find ways to support athletes caught in the crossfire. This isn’t just about politics; it’s about protecting dreams.”

It’s unclear at this stage whether Coventry’s elevation to the presidency will mark a new direction for the IOC or the continuation of Bach’s agenda.

“The young girl who first started swimming in Zimbabwe all those years ago could never have dreamt of this moment,” Coventry said in her victory speech, addressing the IOC members at the luxury seaside resort in Greece’s southwestern Peloponnese, which hosted the IOC session.

“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.

“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. The future of the Olympic Movement is bright, and I can’t wait to get started.

“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.

“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,” she said.

“I'm going to sit down with President Bach. We’re going to have a few months for a handover takeover. And what I want to focus on is bringing all the candidates together. There were so many good ideas and exchanges over the last six months.

“Look at the IOC and our Olympic movement and family and decide how exactly we're going to move forward in the future. What is it that we want to focus on in the first six months? I have some ideas, but a part of my campaign was listening to the IOC members and hearing what they have to say and hearing how we want to move together.”

Mugabe

Sectors of the media, particularly in the UK, were quick to seize on the fact that former Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe awarded Coventry $100,000 following her Olympic success in Athens in 2004.

But as an athlete, being rewarded by a government for athletic achievements is hardly scandalous. In Africa, it’s relatively routine.

Considering all seven candidates came into the election with some political/historical baggage, it was nothing more than a distraction.

Kirsty Coventry in the pool Kirsty Coventry, who won two Olympic gold medals in the pool for Zimbabwe, says she is ‘fully aware of my responsibilities as a role model’ as the first woman to become president of the International Olympic Committee. (Photo: Adam Pretty / Getty Images)

Coe, who only garnered eight votes, was visibly shaken by the outcome.

“It’s too early to start poring over the numbers,” Coe told the media. “But it’s clear that the athletes, and in particular the female athletes, voted for Kirsty in very great numbers.”

He refused to speculate whether the vote had been a clean fight. “It’s an election,” was all he offered.

But Coe did congratulate Coventry and expressed happiness for her. “I’m absolutely delighted for Kirsty. And we’ve got an athlete at the head of the organisation. That’s a good thing,” said Coe, who won two Olympic gold medals in the 1,500m.

“We chatted about that only a couple of weeks ago and agreed that that would be the preferred outcome.

“And that’s what’s happened. I’ve congratulated her. She’s got a huge job, but she will have the confidence of the athletes, and that’s very important.

“I’m a member of the International Olympic Committee. She’s the newly elected president. She deserves our support and she'll get it.”

US tension

One of Coventry’s first tasks will be to sort out relations with the US, which hosts the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

Already there is concern that new policies under President Donald Trump will have a negative impact on certain athletes to compete at the Games in three years’ time.

Organisers of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics on Thursday moved to ease concerns among IOC members over visas and entry requirements for athletes and officials for those Games.

Since taking office, Trump has announced a number of immigration-related executive orders that focus on stricter border policy, tighter visa-vetting procedures and a crackdown on undocumented migrants in the United States.

IOC members, including the president of the International Equestrian Federation, Ingmar de Vos, asked LA 2028 Games chairman Casey Wasserman at the session in southern Greece about concerns over visas and entry requirements for athletes at the Games given the recent developments in the United States.

“We have had four different administrations, three different presidents in our bid process,” Wasserman told the IOC session.

“All of them have affirmed and reaffirmed their commitment to both full access for everyone and the Olympic Charter.

“The Commerce and the State Department under [then president Joe] Biden, at the end, created an accelerated visa programme specifically for athletes,” Wasserman said.

“And in my many conversations with President Trump and Secretary [of State Marco] Rubio, they understand the scale and complexity required to deliver these Games, the access required for not just athletes but for delegations and the incredibly short timeframe on which to do those.”

Coventry guaranteed all athletes qualifying for the Games would be allowed into the US to take part in LA 2028.

“We will not waver from our values of solidarity and will ensure that all athletes who qualify for the Olympic Games can get to the Olympics and be safe.” DM

Additional reporting by Reuters

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