Kirstity Coventry crashed through the glass ceiling of the International Olympic Committee on Thursday to become the first woman from the organization and the first African president in its 130 -year -old history.
Zimbabwe’s great swimming, a already tall character in the Olympic circles, has appeared victorious to replace Thomas Bach, where he got the best job in global sport and seized a new game of games.
“It is a truly strong signal,” said Coventry, smiling with victory.
Coventry needed only one round of voting to vote for the race to succeed Bach, and won the immediate total majority in the secret ballot with 49 of 97 votes available.
She beat Juan Antonio Samarans Junior in second place, and the Spaniard won 28 votes. Sebastian Ko, who is considered one of the contestants in the days before the vote, came a third of only eight votes.
A handful of the remaining voices went to the French David Labartity, the Jordanian prince, Johann Elias Al -Mawled Al -Suwaidi, and the Japanese Mourinari Watanabi.
“This is not just a great honor, but it is a reminder of my obligations towards each of you,” said Coventry, who hosted her colleague at the International Olympic Committee at the luxury resort in southwestern Belbonese, who hosted the International Olympic Committee session.
“I will all make you very proud, and we hope that I am very confident of the choice I took today, thank you from below my heart.”
Coventry said she now wanted to collect all the candidates.
“I will sit with President Bach. We will have a few months to seize his delivery. What I want to focus on is to collect all the candidates together. There have been a lot of good ideas and exchanges over the past six months.
“Look at IOC and our Olympic movement and our family and decided how we will advance exactly in the future. What do we want to focus on in the first six months? I have some ideas, but part of my campaign was listening to the members of the International Olympic Committee and hearing what they should say and hear how we want to move together.”
Unit
She said that the ground collapse in the first round of Coventry was an offer to unit in the body.
“It is extremely important to be a unified front and we have to work together. We do not always agree, and we may not always agree, but we have to be able to communicate to improve movement.”
Coventry, the owner of the Olympic medal seven times, won 200 meters of rear gold in the 2004 Athens games and again in Beijing after four years.
It was added to the Sports Committee of the International Olympic Committee in 2012, and its election indicates the higher position to a new era for the United States of America, with expectations that it will bring a new perspective to urgent issues such as the rights of athletes, sexual debate and the sustainability of games.
Coventry, the sports development champion in Africa, pledged to expand the Olympic participation and ensure that the games remain related to young generations.
The complex task of moving in relations with global sports federations and shepherds also inherits the financial stability of IOC, which has relied heavily on broadcasting and care deals with millions of dollars.
While the leadership deals with, you will see the global sports community closely to know how Kovintry is the future of the largest multi -sports organization in the world.
Although its election was very popular with the family of the International Olympic Committee, there is concern in some circles about its ties with the Zimbabwe government, which was occupied as Minister of Youth, Sports, Arts and Entertainment, which is the position of raising eyebrows in view of Zimbabwe’s history with political freedoms.
The country faced sanctions from the United States and the European Union. Former President Robert Mugabe adds Kovintry’s long recognition of Zimbabwe, where she received a $ 100,000 prize by former President Robert Mugabe for her success at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. Mugabe was in power for 37 years before being overthrown in an army coup in 2017.
Although Coventry tried to separate herself from political affairs, its ministerial role and relations with the Zimbabwe leadership are still controversial issues because it falls into the leadership of the strongest sports organization in the world.
On Thursday, they were all smiling.
A hero in Athens 2004, again in Pylos – her golden touch in Greece has not shown any signs of fading.
“It seems that Greece is a lucky charm,” she smiled.