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Coventry Becomes First Woman and First African to Lead IOC

Zimbabwean candidate for the presidency of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Kirsty Coventry reacts after being elected during the 144th IOC Session on the day of the election of the next President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), in Costa Navarino, Greece on March 20, 2025. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)
Zimbabwean candidate for the presidency of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Kirsty Coventry reacts after being elected during the 144th IOC Session on the day of the election of the next President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), in Costa Navarino, Greece on March 20, 2025. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)
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Coventry Becomes First Woman and First African to Lead IOC

Zimbabwean candidate for the presidency of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Kirsty Coventry reacts after being elected during the 144th IOC Session on the day of the election of the next President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), in Costa Navarino, Greece on March 20, 2025. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)
Zimbabwean candidate for the presidency of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Kirsty Coventry reacts after being elected during the 144th IOC Session on the day of the election of the next President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), in Costa Navarino, Greece on March 20, 2025. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)

Kirsty Coventry smashed through the International Olympic Committee’s glass ceiling on Thursday to become the organization’s first female and first African president in its 130-year history.
The Zimbabwean swimming great, already a towering figure in Olympic circles, emerged victorious to replace Thomas Bach, securing the top job in world sport and ushering in a new era for the Games.
Coventry needed only one round of voting to clinch the race to succeed Bach, winning an immediate overall majority in the secret ballot with 49 of the available 97 votes, Reuters reported.
She beat Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. into second place, the Spaniard winning 28 votes. Britain’s Sebastian Coe, considered one of the front runners in the days leading up to the vote, came third with eight votes.
The remaining votes went to Frenchman David Lappartient, Jordan’s Prince Feisal, Swedish-born Johan Eliasch, and Japan’s Morinari Watanabe.
"This is not just a huge honor but it is a reminder of my commitment to every single one of you that I will lead this organization with so much pride," a beaming Coventry told her fellow IOC members at the luxury seaside resort in Greece’s southwestern Peloponnese which hosted the IOC Session.
"I will make all of you very, very proud, and hopefully extremely confident with the choice you've taken today, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
"Now we've got some work together and I'd like to thank the candidates -- this race was an incredible race and it made us better, it made us a stronger movement.
"I know from the conversations I've had with every single one of you how much stronger our movement is going to be."
The seven-times Olympic medalist joined the IOC's Athletes’ Commission in 2012, and her election to the top job signals a new era for the IOC, with expectations that she will bring a fresh perspective to pressing issues such as athlete rights, the gender debate, and the sustainability of the Games.
A champion of sport development in Africa, Coventry has pledged to expand Olympic participation and ensure the Games remain relevant to younger generations.
She also inherits the complex task of navigating relations with global sports federations and sponsors while maintaining the IOC’s financial stability, which has relied heavily on its multibillion-dollar broadcasting and sponsorship deals.
As she takes the helm, the global sporting community will be watching closely to see how she shapes the future of the world’s biggest multi-sport organization.

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China Facing a Reality Check in World Cup Qualifying 

Football - World Cup - AFC Qualifiers - Third Round - Group C - Saudi Arabia v China - Al-Awwal Park, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - March 20, 2025 China players pose for a team group photo before the match. (Reuters)
Football - World Cup - AFC Qualifiers - Third Round - Group C - Saudi Arabia v China - Al-Awwal Park, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - March 20, 2025 China players pose for a team group photo before the match. (Reuters)
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China Facing a Reality Check in World Cup Qualifying 

Football - World Cup - AFC Qualifiers - Third Round - Group C - Saudi Arabia v China - Al-Awwal Park, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - March 20, 2025 China players pose for a team group photo before the match. (Reuters)
Football - World Cup - AFC Qualifiers - Third Round - Group C - Saudi Arabia v China - Al-Awwal Park, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - March 20, 2025 China players pose for a team group photo before the match. (Reuters)

Branko Ivankovic's China lineup faces another reality check in World Cup qualifying, with the national team risking falling further behind the global ambitions it promoted a decade ago.

China hosts Australia at Hangzhou in Asian qualifying on Tuesday with its hopes of a direct entry to the 2026 World Cup hanging precariously on the outcome. A loss will end those hopes, leaving China with another, more tense route through a fourth round of Asian qualifying.

A decade ago, as the Chinese Super League was spending hundreds of millions of dollars on big-name foreign players, the national soccer federation released a plan laying out a route to a status of international powerhouse by 2050 and one of the best teams in Asia by 2030.

As clubs faced financial problems, the foreign stars departed and the league started to struggle. In terms of continental strength, there's still a long way to go. A 1-0 loss to Saudi Arabia last week was China’s fifth in seven games in the third round of Asian qualification, where it is in last place in Group C.

Only the top two teams in each of the three Asian qualifying groups will progress to the World Cup automatically. Japan secured the first of those direct World Cup spots with a 2-0 win last week over Bahrain lifting it to 19 points, nine ahead of second-place Australia and 10 clear of the third-place Saudis.

Bahrain, Indonesia and China are on six points.

After this week, there's only two more match days in June to determine the standings.

“We played well against Saudi Arabia but now we have to focus on the next game,” said Ivankovic, who will be without the injured Jiang Guangtai and Gao Zhunyi and Lin Liangming, sent off in Riyadh. “We will assess who is fit and then give our all to win."

The 2002 edition co-hosted by South Korea and Japan remains China's only appearance at the World Cup finals. But even if it loses to Australia, all is not lost for China as Asia now has eight guaranteed places at the expanded 48-team World Cup tournament. The third- and fourth-place finishers in each group this round will go into another stage to compete for two spots in the tournament co-hosted by Canada, the US and Mexico.

Australia's Socceroos have grown in confidence following last week's 5-1 win over Indonesia in Sydney.

“It’s full focus on China,” Australia coach Tony Popovic said. “They haven’t changed too much in how they’ve been playing, whether it’s home or away. They sit in their block. They’re very dangerous on the break. And we just have to be prepared.”

Patrick Kluivert is already under pressure as Indonesia head coach after that thrashing in his first game in charge, and needs a win against Bahrain in Jakarta to stay in touch.

“The positive is that we kept on going and the spirit of the team will always be there,” said Kluivert, who was appointed in January. “We will react absolutely against Bahrain.”

Iran can qualify for a seventh World Cup if it avoids a loss to Uzbekistan at Tehran. Iran has 19 points from seven games, three clear of its opponent. Uzbekistan can secure its first World Cup place if it gets a combination of results including a win over Iran and both the United Arab Emirates and Qatar failing to beat North Korea and Kyrgyzstan in other games.

Group B calculations South Korea was disappointed to 1-1 draw with Oman at home last week when a win would have given it more cushion as it pushes for an 11th successive World Cup spot.

The South Koreans on 15 are three points clear of second-place Jordan ahead of the meeting between those teams at Suwon, just south of Seoul. Third-place Iraq faces the Palestinian team in Amman and Kuwait hosts Oman.