Kirsty Coventry elected first female president of International Olympic Committee | More sports News – The Times of India

NEW DELHI: Kirsty Coventry made history on Thursday by becoming the first woman and the first African to be elected president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), calling it an “extraordinary moment.”
At 41, the two-time Olympic swimming champion is also the youngest person ever elected to lead the most influential body in sports governance.

She succeeds Thomas Bach, who steps down after 12 years, and emphasized her commitment to working alongside the six other high-profile candidates she defeated in the election.

“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 said.

“This is not just a huge honour, but it is a reminder to every single one of you that I will lead this organization with so much pride, with the values at the core, and I will make all of you very, very proud and, I hope, extremely confident in the decision you’ve taken today.
“Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

Coventry, widely believed to be Bach’s preferred successor, was seen as a strong contender in a closely fought race against IOC veteran Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. and World Athletics president Sebastian Coe.

However, in a surprising outcome, the contest was decided in the first round of voting, with a majority of the 100-plus IOC members placing their trust in Coventry to navigate the significant challenges ahead.