Kirsty Coventry Elected Tenth President of the International Olympic Committee

The International Olympic Committee elected Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe as the 10th IOC President on March 20, 2025 at the 144th IOC Session in Costa Navarino, Greece

Coventry is a two-time Olympic gold medalist in swimming, and most recently served on the IOC Executive Board as chair of the Athlete’s Commission. With her election, Coventry becomes the first female IOC President.

“As a nine year old girl, I never thought that I would be standing up here one day getting to give back to this incredible movement of ours,” Coventry said to the IOC members following her election.

Coventry was elected in one vote from a slate of seven candidates to succeed Thomas Bach, the ninth IOC President, who was term limited. Candidates for IOC President must receive an absolute majority to be elected, according to election rules published by the IOC prior to the election.

“I think she will have a very strong mandate with this clear win in the first round,” observed Bach following the election.

Coventry served on the IOC Executive Board from 2018-2021 as an ex officio member as chair of the Athletes Commission, and since 2023 as an individual member. She was also a member of the Zimbabwe National Olympic Committee, serving as the Vice President of the committee for two years in 2017-18. She has also held other roles, including as the IOC’s athlete representative to the World Anti-Doping Agency, and as the co-founder of the nonprofit HEROES organization designed to use sports to teach soft skills to children.

Coventry got her undergraduate degree from Auburn University in Alabama, where she competed in swimming during her tenure there.

In addition to other initiatives, Coventry’s leadership will be on display at the 2026 Winter Games in Milano-Cortina, Italy, as well as the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. The latter will feature the debut of flag football as an Olympic sport.

Coventry will assume the office in June 2025, and intends to hit the ground running. She has identified five pillars to her approach, from harnessing the power of sport, maximizing collaboration and engagement, strengthening partnerships for mutual growth, champion sustainable development, and advance credibility and trust. Until then, she will enter a transition period designed to allow her to collaborate with Bach until she officially assumes office.

“I will make all of you very, very proud and hopefully extremely confident in the decision that you’ve taken today,” Coventry said to the IOC members following her election.

President Bach was congratulatory of his successor.

“I warmly welcome the decision of the IOC Members and look forward to strong cooperation, particularly during the transition period,” Bach said in a statement. “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.”