Woman, African, youngest: Coventry breaks barriers as new IOC president

41-year-old multiple Olympic swimming medallist beats top contenders Coe and Samaranch in poll

- HT Correspondent

MUMBAI: Zimbabwe's double Olympic swimming champion Kirsty Coventry won a historic election to become the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) first woman president, and the youngest in the 130-year existence of the world's most powerful sporting organisation.

The 41-year-old Zimbabwe sports minister's ascension to the post also makes her the first African to be elected to the post. "This is an extraordinary moment. As a nine-year-old girl I never thought I'd be standing up here one day, getting to give back to this incredible movement of ours," a beaming Coventry said in her acceptance speech after outgoing president Thomas Bach held up a paper with her name in bold letters. "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."

Coventry, who has won seven Olympic medals and has been part of IOC since 2013, swept to victory with just one round of voting required as she earned an absolute majority, at the 144th IOC Session in Costa Navarino, Greece.