Former Zimbabwean swimmer is the first-ever woman president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

DUBAI: The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Creative Sports Award, part of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, has congratulated Her Excellency Kirsty Coventry, Minister of Sports of Zimbabwe, on her election as President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Coventry, currently serving as the Minister of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation in the Cabinet of Zimbabwe since 2018, defeated six other candidates in the elections held in Greece during the 144th IOC Session. Coventry becomes the tenth President of the IOC and will lead the world's largest sports organisation for the next eight years.

Kirsty, a former Olympic champion, has a strong relationship with the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Creative Sports Award, having previously participated in the 2019 International Sports Creativity Conference, when she spoke at the Sports Diplomacy session, reviewing her rich experience as a distinguished athlete who rose from Africa to the world while winning numerous gold medals in swimming world championships and Olympic Games.

The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Creative Sports Award has collaborative relationships with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Olympic and non-Olympic sports federations. It works to develop sports in the UAE, the region, and the world, supporting international sports initiatives in the areas of community empowerment, youth, women, sustainability, and other areas of sports and the impact of sports at basic community levels.

Kirsty became the first woman and the very first African to hold the position of President of the International Olympic Committee, and she will officially assume her new position on June 23, 2025, succeeding Germany's Thomas Bach.

Born in Harare, Coventry attended and swam competitively for Aubrun University in Alabama in the USA, At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Coventry won three Olympic medals – a gold, a silver and a bronze, while four years later in Beijing, she won four medals – a gold and three silver.

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Logo of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Creative Sports Award

Kirsty Coventry speaking at the 2019 Sports Creativity Conference in DubaiFormer Zimbabwean swimmer is the first-ever woman president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).