Kirsty Coventry bids to become International Olympic Committee first African president 

By Sport Reporter

Zimbabwe’s olympic gold medalist and Minister of Sport Recreation Arts and Culture Kirsty Coventry is bidding to become the first female International Olympics Committee (IOC) president.

Coventry is one of the seven shortlisted candidates to assume IOC’s top post alongside Britain’s 1500m two time Olympics champion Lord Coe, Spain’s Juan Antonio Samarach, Prince Feisal al Hussein of Jordan, Sweden’s Johan Eliasch, Japan’s Wanari Wanatabe and France’s David Lappartient.

The new IOC president is set to be elected next year in March after current president Thomas Bach’s term expires early next year.

If elected, Coventry will be the first female athlete and first African to assume the post.

The  Zimbabwe Olympic swimming medalist is the youngest of the seven shortlisted candidates.

IOC’s head role has been dominated by Europeans who boast of having eight of the nine people to have assumed the role, the other one going to United States of America.