Kirsty Coventry elected first female president of International Olympic Committee

Zimbabwe’s Christie Country has been elected the first female president of the International Olympic Committee, and the 10th president of the organization, which was established in 1894.

On Thursday, members of the IOC voted for the Coventry, who won the Olympic swimming seven times.

Coventry will also become the first person from Africa to serve as the IOC president after his term began on June 24. The last nine presidents were men in Europe or America.

“This is an extraordinary moment,” Thomas Bach, president of the IOC, said in a address to the IOC members after making the announcement. “As a 9 -year -old girl, I never thought I would stand here one day so that we could return our incredible move.”

At the age of 41, she will be the second underage president of the IOC after the modern Olympics founder Perry de Coberton. Koberton began his 29 -year -old in 1896 at the age of 33, the first modern Olympics in Athens, Greece.

Thursday’s vote was about 60 60 miles south of the Olympia at the ancient Olympics, in Costa Narno, Greece.

Country got 49 of the 97 votes In the first and single rounds, followed by Spain’s Joan Antonio Samnich with 28 votes. If he did not get a majority, the voting would go to the second phase, with the first round ending the vote.

Other candidates were IOC fellow members Prince Facea Hussein, Sebastian, Johan Eliasch, David Liprint and Morenry.

Coventry replaced Bach, who served at least 12 years in the role, and pushed the organization through Kovade 19 pandemic diseases.

On Wednesday, IOC Honorary was elected president for Bachi life.

“Some would say that it was such a difficult 12 years, and you have made a sacrifice,” Germany’s 1976 Olympic fence champions said on Wednesday. “I have not made a single sacrifice in these 12 years. I am grateful that after my career as a player, I can continue my hobby about the game. And I am thankful that you have allowed me to return what you have received from the Olympic movement.

In the eight -year period of the Country, Olympic hosts will be Milan Kortina, Italy (2026), Los Angeles (2028), French Alps (2030) and Brisbane, Australia (2032).

Coventry was born in Harare in Zimbabwe, started the Olympics after 170 years of age in 2000 and was then matriculated at Obran University.

He won a 200 -meter back stroke in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics in seven total medals between these two sports. Zimbabwe’s second Olympic medal was to sleep in women’s field hockey in 1980.

Coventry has been a member of the IOC since 2013, when she first joined the Athletes Commission. She retired from the competition after her fifth Olympics in 2016.

Now she will be the first Olympic swimmer to serve as IOC President.

In his address to the IOC members, he said, “Thank you from the bottom of my heart,” and now something has been done with us. “