Kirsty Coventry takes over as IOC president

Kirsty Coventry officially became the president of the International Olympic Committee following a formal handover on Monday morning.

The Zimbabwean, a seven-time Olympic medallist, becomes the first woman and the first African to occupy the post, widely considered the most powerful role in sport.

Coventry, at 41, is also the youngest IOC president since Pierre de Coubertin was elected as its first in 1896. She saw off the challenge of Sebastian Coe among others for the job at an IOC Session in Greece in March.

“In this spirit of gratitude, confidence and joy, I hand over the keys of Olympic House to Mrs Kirsty Coventry, the 10th President of the International Olympic Committee.” - IOC President Thomas Bach pic.twitter.com/9XXE3EJjFq

— IOC MEDIA (@iocmedia) June 23, 2025

Outgoing president Thomas Bach has held the position since 2013 and handed over the keys to Olympic House at a ceremony in Lausanne on Monday.

Coventry will now serve an eight-year term.

In her first speech as IOC president, she praised the “passion and purpose” of her predecessor and thanked him for keeping the Olympic movement “united in difficult times”.

“I was very fortunate to have very strong women around me from an early age, from my grandmothers, to my mum, to many of you women here today,” she added.

She described her children Ella, six, and seven-month-old Lily as her “rocks” and her “inspiration”.

“I can’t believe that in 1992 when I had the dream of going to the Olympic Games and winning a gold medal for Zimbabwe, that I’d be standing here with all of you, getting to make those dreams come true for more young people around the world,” she said.

Coventry said the Olympic movement was “a platform to inspire, a platform to change lives, and a