Ethics CasesSport

Cases · International Olympic Committee · 2024–2026

Kirsty Coventry and the 2025 IOC Presidential Election

On March 20, 2025, IOC members elected Kirsty Coventry, a two-time Olympic swimming champion from Zimbabwe, as the organization's 10th president. She won 49 of 97 votes in the first round against six men, including World Athletics president Sebastian Coe. She was the first woman and first African to hold the post. The election was conducted under rules that limited candidates to private 15-minute presentations, barred endorsements and criticism of rivals, and used a secret ballot. Coventry was also Zimbabwe's sports minister, a role that drew criticism. As president, she followed through on a campaign emphasis by announcing a female-category eligibility policy in March 2026. The case asks how sport's most powerful bodies should choose leaders, and what transparency and independence those leaders owe.

By Tanner Simkins, editor

Timeline

  1. The IOC publishes directives and rules for the presidential election.
  2. Seven candidates present their programs to IOC members in private in Lausanne.
  3. Coventry is elected in the first round with 49 of 97 votes.
  4. Coventry succeeds Thomas Bach as president.
  5. She creates four 'Fit for the Future' working groups, including one on protecting the female category.
  6. Milan-Cortina, her first Olympic Games as president.
  7. The IOC announces its policy on protecting the female category.
  8. The 146th IOC Session endorses 'Fit for the Future', a $10,000 Olympian grant and Charter amendments on neutrality.

The ethical issues

  • Transparency of elections in sport's governing bodies.
  • Restrictions on campaigning, debate and media scrutiny.
  • Independence from governments and political ties.
  • Representation of women and the Global South in sport leadership.
  • Incumbent influence over succession.

Stakeholders

StakeholderInterests & obligations
IOC membersChoosing a leader under their rules.
AthletesA leader who represents their interests.
CandidatesA fair process.
National Olympic committees and federationsPolicy direction and funding.
The public and mediaTransparency and accountability.
GovernmentsInfluence and hosting.

The case

On March 20, 2025, at the 144th IOC Session in Costa Navarino, Greece, members of the International Olympic Committee elected Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe as the organization’s 10th president, for an eight-year term. She was the first woman and the first African to hold the post.[1][4] At 41, she was also the youngest.[6] The result raised questions about how the most powerful body in world sport chooses its leaders, and what independence and openness those leaders owe.

Background

Coventry, a former swimmer, won two Olympic gold medals in the 200m backstroke, in 2004 and 2008, and seven of Zimbabwe’s eight Olympic medals overall.[1] She attended Auburn University on an Olympic Solidarity scholarship.[7] She joined the IOC in 2013, sat on its executive board and was widely reported to be outgoing president Thomas Bach’s preferred candidate.[1][5][6] Until 1981 the IOC had no female members, and she was only the second woman to run for the presidency.[6]

Her career was entwined with Zimbabwean politics. In 2008 she accepted a $100,000 reward from President Robert Mugabe for her Beijing medals, at a time of severe food shortages; she gave some of it to charity and said “so many people are hurting.”[5][6] In 2018 she became sports minister under Mugabe’s successor, Emmerson Mnangagwa. The BBC noted that Amnesty International had accused his government of having “systematically supressed peaceful dissent,” and that the United States sanctioned him in 2024 for corruption and human rights abuses.[6]

Her record as minister was also contested. The Confederation of African Football barred Zimbabwe’s stadiums from hosting international matches from 2020 for substandard facilities. In 2022, after the state sports commission suspended the national football board amid allegations including sexual harassment of female referees, FIFA suspended Zimbabwe for government interference.[6][7] Coventry defended the move: “That decision to step in and get rid of the board was completely the right thing to do.” FIFA lifted the suspension in July 2023.[7] Her predecessor as minister called the state of the sport “a shocking statement,” though he congratulated her on her election.[7] Coventry defended serving in government: “I chose to try and create change from the inside… I believe you have to be seated at the table.”[5]

Seven candidates stood: Prince Feisal Al Hussein, David Lappartient, Johan Eliasch, Juan Antonio Samaranch, Coventry, Sebastian Coe and Morinari Watanabe.[2]

The rules and governance

IOC members elect the president by secret ballot. Candidates presented their programs to members in private in Lausanne on January 30, 2025.[2] According to the BBC, presentations were limited to 15 minutes, media were barred, and members could not ask questions. Endorsements by members were not allowed, nor was criticism of rivals, “meaning behind-the-scenes lobbying played an important role.”[1] Members handed in their phones before a secret electronic ballot.[1] The IOC also clarified that if a president’s IOC membership lapsed before the end of their term, the presidential term would end with it.[2]

The electorate itself was shaped by the incumbent. The Guardian reported that more than two-thirds of the members voting had been appointed under Bach, and the BBC said most of the membership had been appointed by him.[5][6]

The vote

Coventry won 49 of the 97 votes in the first round. Samaranch received 28, Coe 8, Lappartient and Watanabe 4 each, and Prince Feisal and Eliasch 2 each.[1] Coventry called it “a really powerful signal” that the organization was “truly open to diversity,” and said: “Glass ceilings have been shattered today.”[1] Coe said the athletes and women members “supported her very strongly in the first round.”[1]

The BBC’s analysis called Coventry a trailblazer but also “an IOC insider” whose victory after a low-key campaign would be seen as a reflection of Bach’s influence. It said members were “clearly untroubled by her close association with the controversial Zimbabwe government.”[1] Bach denied lobbying directly for her, called the process fair and described the vote as “a demonstration of the IOC as a global organisation with the highest good governance standards.”[6] The Guardian reported that “pressure was applied” in the final days to deliver the result Bach wanted.[5] The BBC said the result would “intensify scrutiny of the IOC’s secretive and highly restrictive election process.”[6]

Fit for the Future

Coventry’s term is set by Rule 20 of the Olympic Charter. The Session elects the president “by secret ballot… for a term of eight years renewable once for four years.” The president represents the IOC, presides over all its activities, and may act on its behalf when the Session or Executive Board cannot, subject to later ratification.[11] Coventry’s mandate therefore runs to 2033, with a possible extension to 2037.[4][11]

Her first major program came at the 146th IOC Session in Lausanne on June 24, 2026. Members endorsed a strategy called “Fit for the Future,” setting the IOC’s course through 2032. It followed a consultation known as “Pause and Reflect,” which, according to the IOC, drew in members, international federations, national Olympic committees and more than 2,200 athletes and athlete representatives. Coventry called it “a genuine opportunity to listen, to reflect and to shape the future of our Movement together.”[9]

The most concrete measure was money for athletes. The BBC reported that every Olympian with full athlete accreditation could apply for a $10,000 grant for each Games they compete in, funded at $140 million per Games. The grant would be paid through national Olympic committees, starting with athletes from Milan-Cortina 2026, with first payments planned for 2027. About 14,000 Olympians per Games were expected to be eligible. Athletes who commit anti-doping violations or breach the IOC’s ethics code, conditions of participation or the Charter would not qualify.[10] Athletes’ commission chair Pau Gasol said: “This is not prize money.” Coventry had said she opposed Olympic prize money, but that the IOC must “find more ways to directly impact athletes.”[10]

The Session also approved Charter amendments that the BBC said strengthened language on sport’s political neutrality. It also agreed that individual disciplines, rather than whole sports, would be evaluated for the Olympic program from Brisbane 2032.[10] The Charter in force from that date says that sports organisations “shall apply neutrality at all times.” It lists among the IOC’s roles “to apply neutrality at all times, free from governmental, cultural, societal or economic pressure.”[11] The same principle pairs neutrality with the “rights and obligations of autonomy,” including “enjoying the right of elections free from any outside influence.”[11]

The new language links to the questions raised by her election. The organization that chose its president by a closed, secret ballot, from an electorate largely appointed by her predecessor, now wrote political neutrality and freedom from outside influence more firmly into its constitution, under a president who had served as a government minister in Zimbabwe.[1][6][11]

Aftermath

Coventry succeeded Bach on June 23, 2025.[4] Asked within an hour of her election how she would handle U.S. President Donald Trump before the Los Angeles 2028 Games, she said: “I have been dealing with let’s say difficult men in high positions since I was 20 years old.”[5] She also promised a task force on protecting the female category.[5] Critics noted that she had sat on the executive board that allowed two boxers who had reportedly failed gender-eligibility tests to compete at Paris 2024.[6]

In September 2025, she created four “Fit for the Future” working groups, covering commercial partnerships, the Olympic program, the Youth Olympic Games and protection of the female category. Defeated rivals Samaranch, Eliasch and Coe were named to groups, while the female-category group’s members were kept confidential to “protect the integrity of the group and their work.”[8] Her first Games were Milan-Cortina in February 2026. On March 26, 2026, the IOC announced a policy limiting the female category at future Olympics to biological females, verified by a one-time SRY gene screen. The policy is examined in SRY gene screening and the female category.[3]

The core dilemma

The IOC chose a historic leader through a process that restricted public scrutiny, and that leader held a government post. How should sport’s most powerful organizations select leaders, and what transparency and independence should be required?

Competing values

  • Collegial decision-making vs. public accountability.
  • Representation vs. independence.
  • Continuity vs. reform.
  • Fairness among candidates vs. open debate.

Strongest arguments

For the process: restrictions prevent negative campaigning and vote-buying. Members know the candidates well.

Against the process: without public debate and scrutiny, influence shifts to private lobbying and incumbents.

On representation: the election broke barriers for women and Africa. Critics say milestones don’t answer questions about governance and political ties.

Applying the frameworks

Justice

A justice lens asks whether the process gave every candidate a fair chance and whether sport’s leadership represents its participants.

Virtue ethics

A virtue lens examines the qualities a leader needs, such as independence and candor, and how a leader handles questions about political ties.

Rights

A rights lens asks whether athletes and the public have a right to scrutinize those who govern global sport.

Walk it through: the Simple Decision Model

  1. Spot the issue. You are an IOC member designing future election rules. Stakeholders include candidates, athletes and the public. Less visible are governments. The codes are the Olympic Charter and election rules.
  2. Gather facts. How did the 2025 rules work in practice? Beware assuming that secrecy prevents improper influence.
  3. Test options. (a) Keep current rules. (b) Allow public debates and question sessions. (c) Add independence requirements for candidates with government roles.
  4. Check codes and law. Check the Olympic Charter and ethics rules.
  5. Decide and document. Record the reasons for changes.
  6. Communicate and follow up. Publish rules and review after each election.

What’s settled and what’s contested

  • Settled: the election result; the campaign rules as reported; the female-category policy announcement.
  • Contested: whether the process was transparent enough; the significance of Coventry’s government role; how her presidency will be judged.

Why this case matters

The election shows how sport’s most powerful body chooses its leader and invites questions about transparency, independence and representation in sport governance.

See also: In or Out? The IOC’s New Method for Choosing Olympic Sports.

Key terms

Institutional accountability
Structures that make a sport organization explain its decisions and face consequences: clear authority, transparency, appeals, independent oversight and enforcement.
Conflict of interest
A situation where a person’s private interest could improperly influence a decision they make in an official role.
Stakeholders
Everyone with something at stake in a decision: athletes, coaches, parents, officials, fans, employees, sponsors, media, communities and regulators, including the less visible ones.
Trust
The public’s belief that what they are watching is real. Integrity failures are ultimately failures of trust.
Agency
An athlete’s ability to make decisions and act independently about their body, career and voice.

Definitions from the Ethics Cases glossary.

Discussion questions

  1. IOC candidates could not publicly debate, criticize rivals or receive endorsements. Does that protect the process or weaken accountability?
  2. Should a serving government minister be eligible to lead the IOC? What safeguards would you require?
  3. How much weight should representation milestones carry in judging a leadership election?
  4. Should the IOC open its presidential election to more public scrutiny? How?

Sources

  1. Coventry elected first female IOC president as Coe beaten — BBC Sport
  2. IOC President Election 2025 — International Olympic Committee
  3. Transgender women athletes banned from female events at Olympics by IOC — The Guardian
  4. Kirsty Coventry elected 10th IOC President at 144th IOC Session in Greece — IOC Newsroom
  5. So who is Kirsty Coventry, who now has global sport's most powerful job? (Mar. 20, 2025) — The Guardian
  6. Kirsty Coventry - the groundbreaking but controversial new IOC president — BBC Sport
  7. View from Africa: how Kirsty Coventry will handle sport's biggest job at the IOC (Mar. 22, 2025) — The Guardian
  8. IOC President Kirsty Coventry announces four 'working groups' to help shape future of Olympics (Sept. 8, 2025) — SwimSwam
  9. 'Fit for the Future': IOC Session sets strategic direction to ensure that the Olympic Movement remains strong, relevant and impactful (June 24, 2026) — IOC Newsroom
  10. IOC announces new $10,000 grant for Olympians (June 24, 2026) — BBC Sport
  11. Olympic Charter (in force as from 24 June 2026), Fundamental Principle 5, Rule 2 and Rule 20 — International Olympic Committee