Results are in: Coventry to lead IOC

In an unexpected landslide victory, the Zimbabwean sports minister and former swimming champion was elected the International Olympic Committee's president on Thursday, succeeding Thomas Bach after 12 years at the helm and becoming the first woman and African to do so.

Also the youngest at 41 years old, Kirsty Coventry did not need to go the extra pool length as she did back in her competing days, although she very well might have benefited from a bonus push from the outgoing IOC boss, as she was amply considered to be Bach’s preferred candidate among the seven who hoped to succeed the former fencer atop the sport world's most influential organisation.

"This is an extraordinary moment. As a nine-year-old girl, I never thought I would be standing up here one day, getting to give back to this incredible movement of ours. It's not only an honour, but a reminder of my commitment to every single one of you that I will lead this organisation with so much pride and the values at the core, and I will make you very proud and hopefully extremely confident of the decision you have taken today", said a visibly emotional Coventry once she reached the podium at the IOC's 144th Session in Costa Navarino, Greece, where the presidential election was held. "Now we have to work together. This was an incredible race and it has made us better. I know how much stronger we are going to be once we deliver on these ideas that we have put together."

As general applause rounded in the auditorium and Bach escorted the winner back to her seat, the German ever-so slightly touched on Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr.'s right shoulder as he passed him by as if to offer some sort of consolation to the eventual runner-up. The Spanish candidate and son of former IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch Sr. had been widely considered the best bet to challenge Coventry in what was expected to be a tight race for the presidency in the coastal Greek town.

The final vote, however, was anything but as Coventry amassed 49 ballots out of the 97 available in the first and only round out of a possible half-dozen. Samaranch Jr., Bach's current vice-president, did manage to come up second but with a distant 28 votes, while Briton Sebastian Coe, President of World Athletics, claimed just eight despite his standing as somewhat sporting royalty after a stellar athletic career and his involvement in the organisation of the London 2012 Olympics. The remaining four candidates amassed only 12 ballots total, with Frenchman David Lappartient and Japan's Morinari Watanabe earning four each, and just two going to HRH Prince Feisal Al Husein of Jordan and Johan Eliasch of Sweden, respectively.

"The vote was overwhelming and it's decisive, a good way to start. She has a strong backing from the members and it's somewhat surprising, but there is no silver medal here," Samaranch acknowledged, still a bit shaken as he congratulated the winner. "We now have a young woman at the helm, fully capable and with a lot of energy. I will help her out if I can, but I can't think of presenting my candidacy for anything else right now. When I saw that the vote was decided in the first round, I thought it wasn't me, because my numbers did not add up."

Coventry indeed swept the competition 'a la' world champion, as if her running mates were swimming in oversized, heavy bathing suits. Coe's results were especially disappointing for those who considered him the most well-equipped official to navigate the next Olympic cycle, with the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games less than a year away and Los Angeles 2028 not that far off either, with freshly-elected United States President Donald Trump now governing the next Summer Games' host country.

But in a day where sport vastly occupied the global stage, it was Coventry who came up with the gold medal. Not an upset by any means, yet undoubtedly much less dramatic than what most analysts had predicted. Samaranch's strategy, according to insiders and his own post-results analysis, was predicated on avoiding the first-round majority and hopefully gain steam in the follow-up votes. But he missed his mandatory objective by one ballot, and the rest is now history.

"I am particularly proud to be the first female IOC president, and also the first from Africa. 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 added. "Sport has an unmatched power to unite, inspire and create opportunities for all, and I am committed to making sure we harness that power to its fullest. Together with the entire Olympic family, including our athletes, fans and sponsors, we will build on our strong foundations, embrace innovation, and champion the values of friendship, excellence and respect. The future of the Olympic Movement is bright, and I can't wait to get started!"

Coe seemed quite shocked by his poor showing despite proclaiming "full support" to the new IOC leader in what he labelled "a very historic moment". It remains to be seen, however, how the two co-exist as the Briton has quite often operated independently as the powerful president of World Athletics, promoting prize money initiatives, which the Olympic Movement long frowned upon, and voicing his opposition o the global body's policies concerning gender eligibility rules. "It was a really good process and I got to speak to all the members, most of them face to face, and my manifesto was really a curation of all those views. I have a very clear view, which I have expressed, with what I feel the challenges are and what the movement needs to address," the former running champion warned, avoiding further controversy regarding the voting process, which he criticised in the leadup to the IOC Session. "Elections are not an exact science. It is what it is. I'm not going to sit there and dissect stuff on the back of a napkin. You win some, you lose some," he conceded.

Bach himself seemed as joyous as ever with Coventry now set to take over in what is expected to be a challenging next eight years for the Olympic movement, with the chance for a second four-term come 2033. "Congratulations to Kirsty Coventry on her election as the 10th IOC President. I warmly welcome the decision of the IOC Members and look forward to strong cooperation, particularly during the transition period. There is no doubt that the future for our Olympic Movement is bright and that the values we stand for will continue to guide us through the years to come," he stated.

Even though she won’t take office until June, when the German official is set to officially step down, the future is now for Coventry, whose uncontested win on the grandest sporting stage of can't overshadow some of her shortcomings back home during an uneven stint as Zimbabwe’s sports minister.

The 2004 Athens Olympics gold medallist, however, did not hesitate to tackle the latest challenge head-on as she once did in her swimming glory days, while she rejoiced with her historic proclamation back in Greece, her "lucky charm" where it all started over two decades ago. "We will now have a few months to handover. I will talk to the candidates and re-set. I have some ideas, but part of my campaign was opening up to members and hearing what they had to say in order to move together," she proclaimed while acknowledging the significance of her win. "It's a really powerful signal that we're truly global and that we have evolved into an organisation that is truly open to diversity and we're going to continue."