Harare – Zimbabwe’s Sports Minister, Kirsty Coventry has been elected the first female International Olympic Committee (IOC) president.
“The elections results are in!
Kirsty Coventry (@KirstyCoventry) elected IOC President, the first female President in IOC history,” the IOC said in a statement.
Coventry,41, replaces Germany’s Thomas Bach at the IOC.
From early 2000s, Coventry has won gold, silver and bronze at the Olympics swimming which earned her the ‘golden girl’ name she was given by Zimbabwe’s former dictator, Robert Mugabe.
Coventry’s tenure as Sports Minister was controversial as she aligned with the ruling ZANU PF party. She failed to effectively run the Sports Ministry. Today, Zimbabwe is facing Benin in a soccer qualifier that is being played in South Africa because the soccer stadiums are run down and do not meet FIFA standards.