Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe has been elected president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), making her the first woman and the first African to hold the top job in world sports.
Coventry surprisingly got an overall majority in the first round of voting by the IOC membership from seven candidates.
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The 41-year-old succeeds German Thomas Bach, whose tenure ends after 12 years.
Bach will step down on 23 June, with Coventry, who was said to be Bach’s preferred candidate, taking over as the 10th president in the 131-year history of the IOC the next day.
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Coventry is a double Olympic swimming champion and sports minister of Zimbabwe.
She has been an IOC member since 2013.
“This an extraordinary moment,” she said in a first brief speech to the members, speaking of “a huge honour” and adding: “Thank you from the bottom of my heart and now we have some work to do.” (NAN)
