Zimbabwean Kirsty Coventry becomes the first woman and African to be elected president of the International Olympic Committee on Thursday, declaring it to be an “extraordinary moment.”
At 41, the two-time Olympic swimming champion is also the youngest person ever to be elected to the most powerful position in sports governance.
The Zimbabwean Sports Minister succeeds Thomas Bach, who steps down after 12 years, saying she would work with the six other heavyweight rivals she beat.
“This is an extraordinary moment. 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 says.
Coventry, who was strongly believed to be Bach’s favored candidate, was thought to be in a tight-run race with IOC veteran Juan Antonio Samaranch Junior and World Athletics chief Sebastian Coe.
However, to general surprise, the race was over after the first round of voting with 49 of the 97 votes cast by the IOC members placing their faith in her.
Samaranch Junior garnered 28 votes and two-time Olympic 1500 meters champion Coe a humbling eight.
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