Kirsty Coventry will replace Thomas Bach.
Kirsty Coventry has become the new head of the International Olympic Committee ( IOC ).
The decision was made at the 144th IOC session in Greece. The 41-year-old Zimbabwean was elected president of the organization during the first round of voting, receiving more than 50% of the votes.
Coventry is the first woman to lead the IOC, and the first African to head the organisation.
On 24 June 2025, Coventry will replace Thomas Bach, who has led the organisation since September 2013.
Coventry beat out six candidates in the race to become IOC President.
Candidates for the post of IOC President :
- Prince Faisal Al-Hussein – (Jordan) – Prince of Jordan, member of the IOC Executive Board
- Sebastian Coe (Great Britain) – President of World Athletics and two-time Olympic champion
- Kirsty Coventry (Zimbabwe) – two-time Olympic champion, member of the IOC Executive Board
- Johan Elias (Sweden) – President of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation
- David Lapartient (France) – President of the International Cycling Union and the French NOC
- Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. (Spain) – IOC Vice President
- Morinari Watanabe (Japan) – President of the International Gymnastics Federation
During her sports career, Kerstie won 7 Olympic medals in swimming, two of which were gold. She is also an eight-time World Championship medalist.
Coventry has served as Zimbabwe's Minister of Youth, Sports, Arts and Recreation for the past five years. She has been a member of the International Olympic Committee since 2012 and will serve on the organization's Executive Committee from 2023.