The first female and first African president of the International Olympic Committee, Kirsty Coventry, was inaugurated in the role on Monday – the organisation’s 131st birthday.
Coventry, a two-time Olympic swimming gold medallist for Zimbabwe, formally takes office on Tuesday after decisively winning a seven-candidate election in March to succeed Thomas Bach.
“You have placed your trust in someone whose life story is deeply rooted in the Olympic movement. As an Olympian, she knows what it means to live the Olympic values,” said Bach.
“She knows how to lead with courage. She is driven by a desire to give back to our Olympic movement that has shaped her life. Now she makes history.”
Bach, an Olympic champion in team fencing in 1976, leaves the role after the maximum term of 12 years in office.
At the formal handover ceremony at IOC headquarters in the Swiss city of Lausanne on Monday, Coventry presented Bach with the Olympic Order in gold.
Coventry thanked the more than 700 assembled guests – including IOC members, athletes, Olympic Movement representatives, delegates from international organisations, political leaders, and IOC staff.
“I am really honoured that I get to walk this journey with you and I cannot wait for anything that lies ahead, because I know I have the best team to support me and our movement in these next eight years,” she said.
The 41-year-old Coventry will lead the IOC through the next eight years, including the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.
The ceremony took place on Olympic Day which marks the founding of the modern version of the Games in 1894.
