Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe has been elected the first female president of the International Olympic Committee, and the 10th president overall of the organization that was founded in 1894.
IOC members voted Coventry, a seven-time Olympic swimming medalist, into the role’s eight-year term (renewable for an extra four years) on Thursday.
Coventry will also become the first person from Africa to serve as IOC President once her term starts June 24. The previous nine presidents were men from Europe or the U.S.
At 41, she will be the second-youngest IOC President after Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympics.