Olympic History Made at IOC: First Female President Appointed

Kirsty Coventry was elected as the first African but, more importantly, the first woman to serve as President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). A Zimbabwean lady replaced Thomas Bach of Germany.

Photo: Kirsty Coventry (screenshot: youtube.com/@iocmedia)

At its General Assembly back on March 20, 2025, Kirsty Coventry became the first person in sports history to be elected President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Now, in an official and symbolic ceremony at Olympic House in Lausanne, Switzerland, she succeeded the departing President of the sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games, Thomas Bach. The transition came after 12 years, which is how long Bach, who competed for Germany in fencing in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, has been in charge of the IOC.

Coventry, a Zimbabwean swimmer who won two Olympic titles in 2004 and 2008, was chosen to serve as the 10th IOC President. She was elected for an eight-year term, making her the first African and the first woman to ever occupy the organization’s top position.

Since Pierre de Coubertin, the man who created the modern Olympic Games, Coventry has been the youngest President. At the age of 33, the Frenchman assumed the presidency of the IOC two years after it was created in 1894. Coventry is 41 years old.

Coventry’s Sporting Successes

She achieved her Olympic dream at the age of 20. Coventry took home the gold in the 200-meter backstroke at the 2004 Games in Athens. She won gold once more in Beijing in 2008, four years later. She won two gold medals, four silver medals, and one bronze medal at the Olympics. Coventry is now Africa’s most successful female Olympian ever. Ethiopian long-distance runner Tirunesh Dibaba, who took home three gold medals (and two bronze), is the only African to have had greater success at the Olympics. By the end of her career, Coventry had participated in five Olympics, broken numerous world records, and had one of the greatest World Championship careers ever.

In 2013, Coventry was chosen for the IOC Athletes’ Commission while still swimming competitively. She served as chairman for three of her eight years of representing athletes’ concerns. She has been on the IOC Executive Board more recently.

Zimbabwe’s growing influence has sparked optimism in Africa that the region will host the Summer Olympics for the first time in the near future. Egypt and South Africa have shown interest, although Coventry has downplayed these claims in the Lausanne-hosted ceremony.

Coventry Has Already Begun Preparations for 2028 Los Angeles Olympics

The 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles are Coventry’s top priority right now, and she has stated her faith in the dedication of the US government at all levels to ensure the Games are a success.

She has advocated for a complete ban on transgender women competing in the Olympics and expressed her wish to save the female division.

A number of obstacles will need to be overcome during Coventry’s presidency, including the possible reintroduction of Russia into the Olympic family, the changing sports sponsorship scene, and the continuous requirement to maintain the Games’ financial viability.

She has underlined the significance of the Olympic movement’s ideals and the necessity of preserving the Games’ integrity.

It remains to be seen whether the LA Olympics will surpass record betting volumes in the worldwide markets set by the Olympic Games Paris 2024 or not. The IOC will undoubtedly keep a careful eye on sports betting during all 2028 Olympic events in Los Angeles in order to identify any illicit activity that can compromise the competitions’ integrity, which, of course, will be easier if trusted bookmaker sites are used by wagerers. The Olympic Movement Unit on the Prevention of the Manipulation of Competitions (OM Unit PMC) in Paris was in charge of this effort. The Unit, which collaborates with strategic partners, was important in maintaining the integrity of the Olympic Games by utilizing a blend of human intelligence, intelligent IT platforms, and complex algorithms.