New Olympic president elected as Britain's Lord Seb Coe discovers fate

A new president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was elected.

Kirsty Coventry, the two -time Olympic gold medal and the Minister of Sport in Zimbabwe, became the first woman and the first African elected to the position.

Britain’s Lord Sebastian Coe did not win the election he entered as an outsider.

The peer went against the opponents more favored by the IOC Transgender women competing for women’s sports.

Ms. Coventry said after her election victory: ‘Dear President and my many dear colleagues, this is an extraordinary moment.

“As a nine -year -old girl, I never thought that one day I would get up here and give back to this incredible movement of ours.

“It is not just a great honor, but it is a reminder of my dedication to each of you, that I will lead this organization with such pride, with the values in the core, and I will make you all very proud, and also very confident in the decision you made today.

“Thanks from my heart and now we have some work together.”

The election took place almost entirely in the shadow in a process of the Conclave style that gives the winner an eight-year mandate.

The final vote was held in the luxury resort of Costa Navarino, in Greece, and confirmed the IOC’s 10th leader in his 131-year history.

Among the issues the winner has to do with the navigation of a smooth road between politics and sports in the 2028 American Summer Games, and to also select a host for the 2036 competition.

Who is the new Olympic president?

Ms Coventry was born in Harare, Zimbabwe, and made her Olympic debut in 2000, a day after she turned 17.

She won gold in the 200m backlash at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics – which took home seven medals over those games.

Ms Coventry has been an IOC member since 2013 when she first joined the Athletes Commission, reports Sky News, US partner NBC News.

In 2016, she retired from competing after her fifth Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Before her victory, which spoke on Wednesday, Ms Coventry said: “Let’s create some change, let’s make sure it happens,”.

All the previous nine presidents were men from Europe or the US.

The 41-year-old Sport Minister has long been seen as the preference of the outgoing IOC president Thomas Bach and had his support.

Her manifesto offered almost complete continuity with its policy.

Previous IOC President, Mr. Bach, formally leaving office on the Olympic day, June 23, after serving a maximum of 12 years in office.

He will locate a financially secure IOC to earn more than $ 8 billion (£ 6.2bn) at the LA 2028 games.

One of his signature policies was gender parity with equal quotas of male and female athletes during the Paris Olympics in 2024 and gave a better balance of female members in the IOC and on the executive council.

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