As Kirty put it, her election is a powerful “powerful signal” for women in a leading position and for a bright future for the Olympic movement, sports, tourism, and world peace. Kirty is ready to deal with difficult men in high places, referring to US President Trump and the Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
She is Zimbabwe’s most successful Olympian, having recently won seven of the country’s eight Olympic medals. In September 2018, she was appointed the Zimbabwe Minister of Youth, Sport, Arts, and Recreation.
She has a bachelor of human science in hotel and restaurant management with a minor in business from Auburn University (United States of America), making her a travel and tourism professional.
Gloria Guevara, who is running to become the first woman UN Tourism Secretary-General, expressed how inspiring Kirty’s election was for her and how this election raises hope for so many women in the world of sports and tourism, as well as for Africa.
Elected to the IOC in 2013 as a member of the Athletes’ Commission, Coventry was re-elected as an individual IOC Member in 2021.
No African athlete has won more medals than Coventry at the Olympic Games. One of the world’s top backstroke and medley swimmers, she won three medals at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, including a gold in the women’s 200m backstroke, a silver in the 100m backstroke, and a bronze in the 200m medley. She defended the 200m backstroke title at Beijing 2008 and also added three silver medals to her tally.
She won three long-course world titles, the 100m and 200m backstroke in 2005 and her specialty event, the 200m backstroke, in 2009. She also won four short-course gold medals at the 2008 FINA World Swimming Championships (25m).
- Member of the Zimbabwe National Olympic Committee (NOC 2013-)
- Vice President of the Zimbabwe National Olympic Committee (2017-2018, stepped down after Government Appointment)
- IOC Athlete Representative on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) (2012-2021)
- Member of the WADA’s Athlete Committee (2014-2021)
- Vice-president of the International Surfing Association (ISA) (2016-)
- FINA Athlete Committee Member (2017-)
- Minister of Sport in Zimbabwe (2018-)
- Founder of KCA Swim Academy, which focuses on learning to swim and water safety for children (2016-)
- Co-founder of HEROES, a not-for-profit organization that uses sport to deliver soft skills to children aged 6yrs-13yrs in underprivileged areas. Provides motivational talks and clinics for schools and developing athletes worldwide; advises groups, businesses, foundations, and individuals interested in developing athletes’ skills and careers.
Born on 16 September 1983, Kirsty competed in 5 Olympic games: 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016
White Zimbabweans (formerly White Rhodesians) are a Southern African people of European descent. In linguistic, cultural, and historical terms, these people of European ethnic origin are mostly English-speaking descendants of British settlers.
Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe was elected today as the 10th President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the first female President in IOC history, following 1 round of voting at the 144th IOC Session in Costa Navarino, Greece.
President-elect Coventry said:
“I am incredibly honoured 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. 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.
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. 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!”
Kirtsy Coventry:
After the election, IOC President Thomas Bach said:
“Congratulations to Kirsty Coventry on her election as the 10th IOC President. I warmly welcome the decision of the IOC Members and look forward to strong cooperation, particularly during the transition period. There is no doubt that the future for our Olympic Movement is bright and that the values we stand for will continue to guide us through the years to come.”
Kirsty Coventry hopes her election as the first female and African president of the International Olympic Committee – beating six male candidates, including Britain’s Lord Coe – sends a “powerful signal.”
The 41-year-old former swimmer, who won two Olympic gold medals, secured a majority of 49 of the 97 available votes in the first round of Thursday’s election, while World Athletics boss Coe won just eight.
After the election, IOC President Thomas Bach said: “Congratulations to Kirsty Coventry on her election as the 10th IOC President. I warmly welcome the decision of the IOC Members and look forward to strong cooperation, particularly during the transition period. There is no doubt that the future for our Olympic Movement is bright and that the values we stand for will continue to guide us through the years to come.”
Zimbabwe’s sports minister Coventry will replace Thomas Bach – who has led the IOC since 2013 – on 23 June and be the youngest president in the organisation’s 130-year history.
Her first Olympics will be the Milan-Cortina Winter Games in February 2026.
“It’s a really powerful signal. It’s a signal that we’re truly global and that we have evolved into an organization that is truly open to diversity. We’re going to continue walking that road in the next eight years,” Coventry said.
Runner-up Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr won 28 votes, while France’s David Lappartient and Japan’s Morinari Watanabe earned four votes each. Prince Feisal al Hussein of Jordan and Sweden’s Johan Eliasch took two.
Coventry, who already sits on the IOC executive board and was said to be Bach’s preferred candidate, is the 10th person to hold the highest office in sport and will be in post for at least the next eight years.
Coventry has won seven of Zimbabwe’s eight Olympic medals – including gold in the 200m backstroke at both the 2004 and 2008 Games.
“The young girl who first started swimming in Zimbabwe all those years ago could never have dreamed of this moment,” said Coventry.”I am particularly proud to be the first female IOC president and 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.”
During her acceptance speech, Coventry described her election as an “extraordinary moment” and promised to make IOC members proud of their choice. Coventry pledged to modernize, promote sustainability, embrace technology, and empower athletes during her election campaign.
She placed particular emphasis on protecting female sports. However, she is backing a blanket ban on transgender women from competing in female Olympic sports.
“I think what is pretty clear is that the athletes and the women members in particular supported her very strongly in the first round, and you know those things happen in elections.”
The presidential vote took place at a luxury hotel in a seaside resort about 60 miles south of the Greek town of Olympia, the birthplace of the ancient Games. IOC members had to hand in their phones before a secret electronic ballot at about 14:30 GMT.
The campaign process restricted candidates to 15-minute presentations at a private event in January. Media were barred, and members could not ask questions afterward.
Members were not allowed to endorse candidates or criticize rival candidates, meaning behind-the-scenes lobbying played an important role.
Russia hopes Coventry’s victory will lead to its return from sporting exile. Russian athletes have not competed at the Olympics under their flag since 2016, following the state-run doping scandal and then the war in Ukraine.
“We look forward to a stronger, more independent, and more prosperous Olympic movement under a new leader and to Russia returning to the Olympic podium,” Russian sports minister Mikhail Degtyarev, head of the Russian Olympic Committee, wrote on his Telegram account.
Coventry has faced criticism in Zimbabwe as a sports minister since 2018, but she has defended her association with the government of controversial president Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Governmental interference in football resulted in Fifa banning Zimbabwe from the international game in 2022, while last year, the United States imposed sanctions on Mnangagwa and other senior officials for corruption and human rights abuses.
