Kirsty Coventry Is The First Female President Of The IOC

On Thursday, March 20, Kirsty Coventry was chosen president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), making her the first African and a woman to hold the office.

“It is a signal that we are truly global,” the Zimbabwe sports minister and two-time Olympic swimming gold medalist said.

After 97 IOC members cast their votes, Coventry emerged victorious in the first round of the seven-candidate race.

At just 41, she receives an eight-year mandate till 2033, which is young by IOC standards. She will probably face an early test when she meets with US President Donald Trump regarding the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

In reference to visiting the White House, Coventry said:

“I have been dealing with let’s say difficult,” taking a pause, “men in high positions since I was 20 years old. What I have learned is that communication will be key,” she said.

With Coventry predicted to dominate the first round but falling short of an outright majority, it was the most unpredictable and open IOC presidential election in decades. She received the precise majority of 49 votes required, despite the fact that further rounds of voting were generally anticipated.

Thomas Bach, the outgoing president of the IOC, who has long been perceived as elevating Coventry to the position of his successor, also benefited from her victory. He did not exercise his voting rights.

During her acceptance speech, Coventry stated,

“I will make all of you very, very proud and hopefully extremely confident in the decision you have taken,” Coventry said in her acceptance speech. “Now we have got some work together.”

Four presidents of sports governing bodies also competed: Sebastian Coe of track and field, Johan Eliasch of skiing, David Lappartient of cycling, and Morinari Watanabe of gymnastics. Jordan’s Prince Feisal al Hussein was also a contestant.

At a handover on June 23, which is officially Olympic Day, Coventry will formally succeed her mentor Bach as the 10th IOC president in the organization’s 131-year history. Bach served his whole twelve years in office.

The IOC of Coventry will now have to choose a host for the Summer Games in 2036, which may be in the Middle East or India. One important IOC member who cast a vote on Thursday is Nita Ambani, who comes from the richest Asian family.

Coventry, who gave birth to her second child, IOC vice president Samaranch, and Coe appeared to be the strongest contenders in a five-month campaign with strictly regulated regulations created by the Bach-led IOC.

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While her opponents’ manifestos included specifics to help Olympic athletes, which she was as recently as 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Coventry’s offered little fresh detail and largely continued Bach’s legacy.

By giving track and field gold medalists in Paris last year $50,000, Coe’s World Athletics broke an Olympic taboo. The outgoing president, Samaranch, pledged to allow athletes to control the video of their Olympic achievements and loosen the stringent IOC commercial regulations.

Samaranch made an effort to emulate his father, Juan Antonio Samaranch, the seventh president of the IOC from 1980 to 2001.

Bach’s legacy of advancing women is further enhanced by Coventry’s victory.

Coventry won consecutive 200-meter backstroke championships in Beijing four years later in Athens in 2004. Nearly a year after a contentious athlete election at the London Olympics, she became a member of the IOC in 2013. After the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled against two of her opponents, she was ultimately chosen as one of the four athletes elected.

Members of the royal family, former diplomats and parliamentarians, business executives, Olympic athletes, and sports officials are among the voters in the restricted group of IOC members invited to vote. Even Michelle Yeoh, an Oscar-winning actress.

In an election that hinged on a covert web of connections and friendships that were primarily formed out of sight, members cast their votes without hearing any additional speeches from the candidates.