Kirsty Coventry has just shattered the glass ceiling to become the first woman and African to be named the head of the International Olympic Committee in its 130-year history.
The Zimbabwean swimming champ came out on top to replace the controversial Thomas Bach, taking the top job in world sport. ‘It’s a signal that we’re truly global and that we have evolved into an organisation that is truly open to diversity, and we’re going to continue,’ she said at her acceptance speech on Thursday, March 20, in Athens.
Coventry clinched the position, leaving candidate Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr in second place, followed by Sebastian Coe in third. She said that she would spend the next few months working with Thomas Bach to ensure a smooth handover of responsibilities and to exchange some key ideas.
Kirsty Coventry, outspoken on protecting women’s sports
Seen as a controversial choice, Coventry has been outspoken with her views on transgender people in single-sex sports, arguing that sports should be categorised by the biological sex of an athlete and not what gender they identify as.
Reported by the Telegraph, she said she wanted to ‘ensure fairness in women’s sport and maintain the integrity of women’s categories.’ Coventry highlighted the dangers of allowing male-born athletes to compete in women’s categories, particularly in physical contact sports.
The seven-time Olympic medallist was invited to the IOC’s Athletes’ Commission in 2012, and her election to the presidency heralds a new era for the committee, with high expectations that she will bring a fresh perspective to pressing issues such as athlete rights.
