The EOC is looking forward to working closely with IOC President-elect Kirsty Coventry when she takes office on 24 June 2025.
Former Zimbabwean swimmer Coventry made history earlier today (20 March) as she became the first female to be elected as IOC President during the 144th IOC Session in Costa Navarino, Greece. She will succeed the incumbent IOC President, Thomas Bach, whose mandate ends on 23 June 2025 – Olympic Day.
Coventry was elected by her fellow IOC members in the first round of voting, receiving 49 votes out of 97 to earn the necessary 50% majority required to win.
A two-time Olympic gold medallist in swimming, Coventry has been an IOC member since 2013, when she was elected to the IOC Athletes’ Commission. She chaired the Athletes’ Commission and served on the IOC Executive Board from 2018 to 2021, before being elected as an individual IOC member in 2021 and returning to the IOC Executive Board in 2023. Coventry is also the Minister of Youth, Sports, Arts, and Recreation in her native Zimbabwe.
EOC President Spyros Capralos said: “The EOC congratulates Kirsty Coventry, a great Olympic champion, on her election as the 10th IOC President and on breaking new ground as the first female president. Electing the first female IOC president is an important step forward for the Olympic Movement and aligns with the EOC’s commitment to gender equality, with seven female members of our 16-person Executive Committee.
“I look forward to working closely with her, and the EOC will continue to offer its steadfast support to the IOC under her leadership, just as we did during President Bach’s mandate. The European Olympic Movement remains committed to supporting the IOC in all its endeavours. “I would also like to pay tribute to the six other candidates who stood for election. Their campaigns were conducted in the true spirit of Olympism, showing respect for the rules and their colleagues. I am confident that all six of them will continue to make significant contributions to the Olympic Movement.”
