Kirsty Coventry, a Zimbabwean swimmer has become the first woman to lead the International Olympic Committee in its 131-year history after a stunning first-round knockout over a seven-strong field that included Britain’s Sebastian Coe.
In a contest that had been expected to go through multiple rounds of voting, the 41-year-old won 49 of the 97 votes in the first round, giving her an immediate majority. She is the first African to become IOC president and becomes the most powerful woman in global sport.
But it was a crushing day for Coe, who could only secure eight votes, putting him third behind the Spaniard Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr with 28.
Coventry’s victory came despite a manifesto that was widely seen as bland, and a campaign that started slowly. However, in the final few days before the secret ballot, strong lobbying from outgoing IOC president Thomas Bach and other senior IOC members proved to be crucial in tipping support her way.
Suddenly a contest that had been fought over in the shadows for months was all over in just two minutes: the time it took for the IOC’s quixotic membership of royals, former athletes, politicians and billionaires to throw their weight overwhelmingly behind the seven-time Olympic medallist.
It took a while for Bach to confirm the result – and the electronic voting machine of Afghanistan IOC member Samira Asghari appeared not to function. But when it was finally announced Coventry, who won seven Olympic medals in swimming including gold in the 200 metre backstroke at the 2004 Athens and 2008 Beijing Games, was full of smiles.
“The young girl who first started swimming in Zimbabwe all those years ago could never have dreamt of this moment,” she said. “I am particularly proud to be the first female IOC president, and also the first from Africa. I hope that this vote will be an inspiration to many people.
“Glass ceilings have been shattered today, and I am fully aware of my responsibilities as a role model. I will make all of you very, very proud and hopefully extremely confident in the decision you have taken. Now we have got some work together.”
Beforehand Coe was widely accepted to have the best CV, having won two Olympic gold medals, run the London 2012 Games and having been World Athletics president since 2015.
He had hoped to get votes by positioning himself as the change candidate, who would make the IOC more democratic and also protect women’s sport.
However, his strategy to get the backing of a majority of former athletes before winning a majority in the later rounds when other candidates dropped out was blown away.
“It’s very early to start poring over the numbers, but I think it’s pretty clear that the athletes, and in particular the female members, voted for her in very big numbers in the first round,” Coe admitted. “Clearly it’s a disappointing result, but that’s what happens when you go into an election.”
Not all candidates were as downbeat. Japan’s candidate Morinari Watanabe, the president of international gymnastics who came fourth with four votes, summed up his efforts succinctly afterwards. “Eight years gone in two minutes,” he said, smiling as he clapped his hands.
Coe’s chances were certainly hindered by becoming an implacable enemy of Bach when World Athletics banned all Russian athletes from the Rio 2016 Olympics for state sponsored doping.
But the stark reality is that there was probably little any candidate could have done given Bach’s power and influence over the organisation he has run since 2013, during which time he has appointed more than two-thirds of the electorate.
The 71-year-old German, who was voted in as honorary president on Wednesday, will continue to wield significant influence even if he denied having a direct involvement in Coventry’s victory afterwards. “There is a good democratic rule, when you don’t win,” he said. “Don’t blame the voters and don’t blame the procedure.”
But while many will rejoice at the first woman to lead the IOC, her election victory will be seen as controversial in some quarters.
Part of that is because Coventry is the sports minister of a Zimbabwean government that is subject to sanctions from Britain, which are “aimed at encouraging the Government of Zimbabwe to respect democratic principles and institutions and the rule of law”.
Human Rights Watch’s assessment of Zimbabwe reads: “In August 2023, President Emerson Mnangagwa was reelected in an election characterized by repression of civil and political rights. Southern African Development Community observers and others found that the election failed to meet regional and international standards for free and fair elections.
“Following the elections, abductions, arbitrary detention and torture of parliament members, opposition political activists, and human rights defenders escalated. Since then, the government has repeatedly targeted opposition members and activists, holding them in prolonged detention, mistreating them in custody, and weaponizing the judicial system against rights defenders.”
Coventry also received US$100,000 (about £55,000 at the time) in cash from Zimbabwe’s former president, Robert Mugabe, upon her return from the Beijing Games in 2008.
But for now Coventry, who will take over when Bach formally leaves office on June 23, having reached the maximum 12 years in office, is only looking forward.
“Sport has an unmatched power to unite, inspire and create opportunities for all, and I am committed to making sure we harness that power to its fullest,” she said in her victory speech. “The future of the Olympic movement is bright, and I can’t wait to get started.”
