Kirsty Coventry broke the International Olympic Committee's glass ceiling on Thursday, becoming the first female president of the organisation and the first African to hold the position in its 130-year history.
The famous swimmer from Zimbabwe, already a household name in Olympic circles, won the title, replacing Thomas Bach, taking the top spot in world sport and ushering in a new era of the Olympic Games.
“It’s a really powerful signal,” she said, smiling as she realized her win. “It’s a sign that we are truly global and that we have become an organization that is open to diversity, and we will continue in that direction.”
It took Coventry just one round of voting to win the Bach contest, and she immediately won an absolute majority in the secret ballot, receiving 49 of the 97 possible votes.
She beat Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr., who came in second with 28 votes, while Briton Sebastian Coe, considered one of the favourites before the vote, came in third with eight votes.
The remaining votes went to France's David Lappartient, Prince Faisal of Jordan, Sweden's Johan Elias and Japan's Morinari Watanabe.
Coventry's victory was announced at the IOC session in Greece by current president Thomas Bach, who will formally hand over control on June 24.
In her acceptance speech, Coventry said: “This is an incredible moment. When I was nine years old, I never thought I would be here one day paying tribute to our amazing movement.
“This is not only a great honor, but it is a reminder of my commitment to each and every one of you that I will lead this organization with great pride, with the values that are at its core, and I will make sure that you are all very, very proud and, hopefully, extremely confident in the decision that you have made today.”
Coventry, who was seen by some as outgoing President Bach's preferred candidate, won gold in the 200m backstroke at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics, among seven medals she has won in her career.
She was a member of the IOC Athletes' Commission and served on it from 2013 to 2021. She was then elected as an individual member of the IOC in 2021.
Coventry also sat on the IOC executive board that approved the eligibility criteria for the women's boxing tournament at last summer's Games in Paris, prompting criticism and controversy that left Coe “uncomfortable”.
Two boxers, Iman Khelif and Lin Yu Ting, won gold medals despite the International Boxing Association saying they were disqualified from the 2023 World Championships for not meeting gender eligibility criteria.
Khelif filed a lawsuit following reports that she has XY male chromosomes and claims she was born female and lives as a woman, while the IOC condemned the abuse Khelif and Lin suffered during and after the Games.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
