Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe has been elected as the first female president of the International Olympic Committee, emerging from a contentious seven-candidate race Thursday to take hold of one of the most powerful roles in global sports.
In a stunning twist, the 41-year-old Coventry secured a majority of the votes on the very first ballot of the election, upending what was expected to be a lengthy, multi-round voting process during the IOC session at a luxury resort in Pyros, Greece. She received 49 of the 97 votes, well ahead of Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. of Spain, who finished second with 28.
In addition to becoming the first female IOC president, Coventry is also the first person from Africa to hold the role. There have been only nine other IOC presidents since the organization’s founding in 1894.
‘I’m extremely proud of both of those different identities,’ Coventry said. ‘I’m grateful, as well, to have been given a platform to work extremely hard over the last six months with IOC members to really make sure that they know who I am and what values I hold dearly. It wasn’t just about being a woman or being from Africa. I’m so grateful that the members saw more than just gender or where I come from.’
Coventry, a former Olympic swimmer, will assume the office June 24 and serve an initial eight-year term, with the possibility of serving an additional four years upon re-election. Former German fencer and longtime IOC executive Thomas Bach has had the job since 2013.
Coventry had long been one of the favorites to win Thursdsay, and she was believed to have been Bach’s preferred candidate. As a swimmer, she competed at five editions of the Summer Games from 2004 to 2016 and won seven Olympic medals. Along the way, she also swam collegiately in the United States at Auburn and later joined the IOC as a member of the athletes’ commission in 2013.
Coventry needed to secure 49 votes on the first ballot to win outright and avoid subsequent rounds of voting, in which the candidate who received the fewest votes in each round would be eliminated. And she got exactly 49. The runner-up was Samaranch, a longtime IOC executive whose father, Juan Antonio Sr., also served as IOC president. Seb Coe, the president of the international federation that oversees track and field, placed third with just eight votes.
International cycling leader David Lappartient (four votes), International Gymnastics Federation president Morinari Watanabe (four votes), Prince Feisal Al Hussein of Jordan (two votes) and International Ski and Snowboard Federation head Johan Eliasch (two votes) rounded out the pool of candidates.
‘We celebrate Kirsty’s election as president of the IOC and eagerly anticipate collaborating with her as she steers the Olympic Movement into the future,’ U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee chair Gene Sykes said in a statement.
‘As we look forward to a transformative decade of Olympic and Paralympic sport in the United States − welcoming the Games back in 2028 and 2034 − a robust partnership with the IOC will be essential. We are confident that under Kirsty’s leadership, the IOC will provide the stability and support necessary to achieve our shared goals.’
With Thursday’s win, Coventry ascends to one of the most powerful roles in international sports. The IOC is the wealthiest multi-sport organization in the world, with revenues of more than $7.7 billion in the most recent Olympic cycle, from 2021 to 2024.
The organization is charged with not just planning and operating the Summer and Winter Olympics but also shaping and guiding the Olympic movement around the world. And, as a result, the IOC president regularly schmoozes with heads of state and at times serves as the de facto leader of the global sports community as a whole.
Bach, for example, spearheaded the international sporting community’s response to the state-backed Russian doping scandal early in his tenure. He also led the IOC through the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Games to 2021 and required the 2022 Winter Olympics to be held behind closed doors.
Coventry will now face a new − and lengthy − set of challenges, including Russia’s possible return to the Olympics following its invasion of Ukraine, the participation of transgender athletes in women’s sports and simmering tensions in the anti-doping community between the United States and the World Anti-Doping Agency. She will also have to work closely with the United States, which is is slated to host two of the next five editions of the Olympics.
At a news conference Thursday, Coventry was asked specifically about building a relationship with President Donald Trump, who has threatened to withhold visas for transgender athletes ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Games, even if they are cleared to compete by the IOC.
‘I have been dealing with, let’s say, difficult men in high positions since I was 20 years old. And first and foremost, what I have learned is that communication will be key,’ Coventry said. ‘My firm belief is that President Trump is a huge lover of sports. He will want these Games to be significant, he will want them to be a success.’
Coventry said she will relocate to Lausanne, Switzerland − where the IOC’s headquarters are located − in the coming months and resign from her government role in Zimbabwe. She has served as the country’s minister of youth, sport, arts and recreation since 2018, drawing criticism for her role in a government that has been accused of silencing political opposition.
In a recent op-ed published by Newsweek, a pair of policy experts from the Human Rights Foundation wrote that the IOC’s election of Coventry would be ‘a victory for the brutal regime she has become the soft face of.’
‘I chose to want to try and create change from the inside. It gets criticized, and that’s OK,’ Coventry said. ‘At the end of the day, I don’t think you can stand on the sidelines and scream and shout for change. I believe you have to be seated at the table to try to create it.’
Boxing approved for 2028 Los Angeles Olympics
In other significant news from Thursday’s session, the IOC formally approved the inclusion of boxing in the Olympic program for the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.
Boxing’s place at the Games had been in doubt after the IOC’s fight with the International Boxing Association, the international federation that previously ran the sport. The IOC cut ties with the IBA in 2023 due to governance concerns and the organization’s growing coziness with Russia.
The emergence of a new federation, World Boxing, over the past 18 months paved the way for the IOC to welcome the sport back into the Olympic fold.
‘This is a great day for boxers, boxing and everyone connected with our sport at every level across the world,’ World Boxing president Boris van der Vorst said following the decision.
‘This outcome has been achieved by a massive team effort … and would not have been possible without the hard work and commitment of all of the national federations, boxers, coaches, officials and boxing leaders that have worked together to enable this to happen.’
Milan Cortina sliding track on schedule
IOC members also received an update from organizers of next year’s Milan-Cortina Winter Games − including news about the Cortina sliding center that is supposed to host bobsled, skeleton and luge events.
Milan-Cortina chief executive officer Andrea Varnier told IOC members that efforts to build and prepare the track are on schedule, and athletes are slated to test it next week. Bach called it ‘a clear and encouraging report.’
‘After these reports today I must tell you we are not nervous anymore,’ Bach said. ‘The trust in your capabilities remains and has even been reinforced today. We can look forward to brilliant fantastic Winter Games.’
Organizers have been scrambling to build and prep the track ahead of next year’s Olympics, and there was so much uncertainty over the timeline that they felt compelled to arrange a Plan B. If the track isn’t ready, the sliding events will instead take place in Lake Placid, New York.
Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on social media @tomschad.bsky.social.