Seven-time Olympic medallist Kirsty Coventry was elected on Thursday as president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The 41-year-old Zimbabwean was chosen after the first round of voting among the 97 IOC members at the 144th IOC session and will take over on 23 June from Thomas Bach.
She will be the first woman and the first African to occupy the top job in an organisation founded 131 years ago by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas to oversee the organisation of the Olympic Games.
Zimbabwe's aspiring Olympics supremo Coventry targets development of athletes
"This is not just a huge honour, but it is a reminder of my commitment to every single one of you that I will lead this organisation with so much pride," said Coventry in her first speech as the planet's most powerful sports administrator.
"And I will make all of you very, very proud and hopefully extremely confident in the decision you’ve taken today. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, and now we’ve got some work together."
Coventry won her medals - two of them gold - swimming for her country at Olympic Games between 2000 and 2016.
To rise to the top spot, she beat beat off challenges from six other candidates including the Frenchman David Lappartient who heads his country's national Olympic committee as well as the International Cycling Union.
Olympic gold medallist Sebastian Coe, who leads World Athletics, was also in the running with Morinari Watanabe, Prince Feisal Al-Hussein, Johan Eliasch and Juan Antonio Samaranch whose father led the IOC between 1980 and 2001.
"This race was an incredible race," added Coventry, who has been her country's sports minister since 2018. "And it made us better, made us a stronger movement. Thank you very much for this moment, and thank you very much for this honour."
On the eve of the vote at the exclusive Greek coastal resort of Costa Navarino, Bach graciously offered to share the wisdom and experiences harvested from his 12 years in the job since replacing Jacques Rogge.
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"If the new president would like to have some advice or support they can call me in the middle of the night," said the 71-year-old German.
"I don't know if I'll respond then but I'll be happy at any time if they want my advice. If not, I will not impose my advice."
Coventry will be head of the organisation for an eight-year term which will encompass the Summer Games in Los Angeles in 2028 and Brisbane in 2032 as well as the Winter Games in Cortina d'Ampezzo next February and the French Alps in 2030.
In an interview with RFI just before the vote, Coventry vowed to use the memories of her trials and tribulations as an aspiring athlete in her homeland to improve the lot of up-and-coming youngsters if successful.
"The hardest part of my journey was becoming an Olympic champion," she said.
"That's where I believe we should be focusing a little bit more with dedicated programmes to help support directly athletes on their journey to becoming an Olympian. So I would like to do that."
