Coventry wins the race to succeed Thomas Bach and might be first African to turn into Worldwide Olympic Committee chief.
Kirsty Coventry has smashed by means of the glass ceiling of the Worldwide Olympic Committee (IOC) to turn into the organisation’s first lady and first African president in its 130-year historical past.
The Zimbabwean swimming nice, already a towering determine in Olympic circles, emerged victorious on Thursday within the race to exchange Thomas Bach, securing the highest job in world sport and ushering in a brand new period for the Video games.
“It’s a extremely highly effective sign,” she smiled because the victory sunk in. “It’s a sign that we’re really world and that now we have developed into an organisation that’s really open to range and we’re going to proceed.”
Coventry wanted just one spherical of voting to clinch the race to succeed Bach, profitable a right away total majority within the secret poll with 49 of the accessible 97 votes.
She beat out second-placed Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr, with the Spaniard profitable 28 votes. Britain’s Sebastian Coe, thought-about one of many frontrunners within the days main as much as the vote, got here third with eight votes.
The remaining votes went to Frenchman David Lappartient, Jordan’s Prince Feisal Al Hussein, Swedish-born Johan Eliasch, and Japan’s Morinari Watanabe.
“This isn’t simply an enormous honour, however it’s a reminder of my dedication to each single one in all you that I’ll lead this organisation with a lot pleasure,” a beaming Coventry advised her fellow IOC members on the luxurious seaside resort in Greece’s southwestern Peloponnese that hosted the IOC Session.
“I’ll make all of you very, very proud, and hopefully extraordinarily assured with the selection you’ve taken in the present day, thanks from the underside of my coronary heart,” she added.
Coventry mentioned she needs to deliver all of the candidates collectively.
“I’m going to sit down down with President Bach. We’re going to have a couple of months for a handover takeover. And what I wish to concentrate on is bringing all of the candidates collectively. There have been so many good concepts and exchanges during the last six months.
“Take a look at the IOC and our Olympic motion and household and determine how precisely we’re going to maneuver ahead sooner or later. What’s it that we wish to concentrate on within the first six months? I’ve some concepts, however part of my marketing campaign was listening to the IOC members and listening to what they should say and listening to how we wish to transfer collectively.”
Coventry was solely the second feminine candidate ever to face for the IOC presidency, and the primary one to have a sensible probability to win it, mentioned Al Jazeera’s Andrew Richardson, reporting from Greece.
“Thomas Bach has positioned her in a collection of positions throughout the IOC to attempt to give her the absolute best platform to show her diplomatic and administrative abilities, and he or she’s progressed by means of the ranks in a short time,” Richardson mentioned.
“Keep in mind that is an organisation that’s not simply having its first feminine president. Up till 1981, there have been no feminine members of the IOC, so really a breakthrough time for the Worldwide Olympic Committee.”
