A brand new president was elected Thursday in historic Olympia, Greece, following one of the vital open Olympic elections in a long time. Former Olympic swimmer Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe is ready to develop into the tenth chief of the Worldwide Olympic Committee in its 131-year historical past. She’s going to serve an eight-year mandate, guiding the IOC by the subsequent 4 Video games. Notably, she is the primary feminine president of the group.
Outcomes of the election for the tenth IOC President:
HRH Prince Feisal Al Hussein 2
David Lappartient 4
Johan Eliasch 2
Juan Antonio Samaranch 28
Kirsty Coventry 49
Lord Sebastian Coe 8
Morinari Watanabe 4 pic.twitter.com/AE3z0vE6r3— IOC MEDIA (@iocmedia) March 20, 2025
Coventry, 41, faces key challenges, together with steering the Olympics by political and sporting complexities on the highway to the 2028 Summer season Video games in Los Angeles. She can even oversee the number of a number metropolis for the 2036 Video games, which might mark a historic first for India, the Center East, or Africa.
A embellished athlete, Coventry competed in 5 Olympic Video games (2000–2016), incomes seven medals: two gold, 4 silver, and one bronze. Following her swimming profession, she has served as Zimbabwe’s Minister of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation since 2018. and has held outstanding roles inside the IOC, together with chair of the Olympic Athletes’ Fee.
On Thursday afternoon, 100 IOC members forged their votes in Greece. Coventry was elected within the first spherical, securing a majority.
World Athletics president Sebastian Coe was additionally in rivalry for the function however fell quick, receiving solely eight of 100 votes. He’ll stay an IOC member and proceed in his function as head of the governing physique for observe and subject.