07 April 2025 – A fortnight after her historic election, the International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s President-elect, Kirsty Coventry, was warmly welcomed by IOC President Thomas Bach, IOC Director General Christophe De Kepper and IOC staff at Olympic House in Lausanne earlier today.
When entering the building, the staff started a long and resounding round of applause for the President-elect. President Bach presented her with a bouquet of flowers. The entire staff joined the IOC President and President-elect for a group picture on the symbolic staircase of Olympic House.
In her address to the staff, the President-elect said: “Wow. This is going to be etched in my memory for a long time. I am incredibly humbled to be here. I think as a nine-year-old girl, I did not think I’d ever be standing here getting the opportunity to give back to this Movement and to work with all of you to make sure that other nine-year-olds realise their dreams.”
So I’m truly very excited about the next eight years and what that looks like for all of us. Part of my campaign was the Ubuntu philosophy of ‘I am because we are’, and that is very much going to be the foundation of everything we do. So I’m truly just grateful and honoured to be here and really looking forward to making other nine-year-olds’ dreams come true from around the world. So let’s do it. Thank you. Kirsty Coventry – IOC President-elect
Coventry’s first visit to Olympic House as President-elect comes ahead of an IOC Executive Board meeting on Wednesday, 9 April. This is part of the three-month transition from President Bach to President-elect Coventry.
Coventry is a double Olympic champion in swimming from Zimbabwe. She was elected as the 10th President of the IOC, and the first female President in IOC history, at the 144th IOC Session that was held in Costa Navarino, Greece, on 20 March 2025.
Until the official handover ceremony on Olympic Day, 23 June, Coventry will regularly visit Olympic House in Lausanne.
Before coming to Lausanne, IOC President-elect Coventry attended the Continental Athletes’ Forum of Africa last weekend in Windhoek, Namibia, and was warmly welcomed by the representatives of all of Africa’s Athletes’ Commissions.
“Everything I have achieved, be it in my sporting career or as an athlete representative in Africa and at the IOC, or in my various responsibilities in my country and across the Olympic Movement, I have achieved them because of teamwork. I look forward to continuing the same unity and teamwork approach in my new role,” she said in her address to the athletes.
During her visit in Windhoek, she was welcomed by the President of the Republic of Namibia, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah. “I am very happy that you are my first Head of State that I am officially meeting in my role as President-elect of the IOC. It sends an incredibly strong message around the world that as women, we are here and we are ready to lead, and also as Africa, we are here and ready to lead. Thank you for breaking down barriers for all of us women to follow in your footsteps,” President-elect Coventry said.
In the meeting, President Nandi-Ndaitwah congratulated President-elect Coventry on her election and said: “Sport is not just an activity for us — it is a major industry contributing to national mental health, youth empowerment and economic development.”
