Overview

• Kirsty Coventry formally assumed the IOC presidency in Lausanne as Thomas Bach handed her the ceremonial key to the organization.
• Coventry, a 41-year-old two-time Olympic swimming champion from Zimbabwe, won the March election in the first ballot as Bach’s favored successor.
• She has pledged to give IOC members greater input in governance and to tackle issues like transgender athlete inclusion and Russian participation.
• Thomas Bach departs after 12 years, becoming honorary president for life after steering the IOC through crises such as Russian state doping, the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical tensions.
• The IOC has secured billion-dollar media and sponsorship contracts through 2034 even as some major sponsors withdrew and Coventry faces the 2028 Los Angeles Games under President Trump.