Lausanne, Switzerland, June 23, 2025: Olympic history was written on Monday, June 23 at Olympic House in Lausanne when Kirsty Coventry succeeded Thomas Bach as IOC President.
Bach, an Olympic champion in fencing for Germany at the Olympic Games Montreal 1976, has been leading the organisation for 12 years following his election as the 9th IOC President in 2013.
On Olympic Day, which takes place on 23 June each year to commemorate the founding of the modern Olympic Games in 1894 based on the initiative by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, Bach symbolically passed the key for Olympic House from one Olympic champion to another in a moment of historical significance.
Coventry, a double Olympic champion in swimming from Zimbabwe (2004, 2008), was elected as the 10th IOC President at the 144th IOC Session this March in Olympia, Greece. She is the first woman and the first African ever to hold the IOC’s highest office and has been elected for a term of eight years.
More than 700 guests – including IOC Members, athletes, Olympic Movement representatives, delegates from international organisations, political leaders and IOC staff – witnessed an emotional ceremony. When the key was handed over, the audience rose for a standing ovation.
Bach, who was elected IOC Honorary President for Life during the 144th IOC Session in March, said: “Today is a day of gratitude. Today is a day of confidence. Today is a day of joy. There are many emotions I feel in this moment – but most of all, I feel gratitude.
“Gratitude, above all, to our beloved founder Pierre de Coubertin — whose body rests just a stone’s throw from here, and whose heart lies in Ancient Olympia. To him we owe everything. I am sure he is watching us today from his Olympic heights, with that familiar smile, and that he feels content to see his – and our – Olympic Movement flourishing, true to his vision and more relevant than ever.”
Bach was deeply grateful to his fellow IOC Members for the support he received during his term, “because I have never walked this path alone. We have reformed, we have renewed, we have united around the values that define our Olympic Movement.”
Speaking about Coventry, a seven-time Olympic swimming medallist and now the 10th IOC President, Bach added: “With her election, you have also sent a powerful message to the world: the IOC continues to evolve. As the first female and first African to hold this position – and indeed the youngest IOC President since Pierre de Coubertin – she reflects the truly global nature and the youthful, forward-looking spirit of our Olympic community.”
Coventry thanked Bach for all his work, saying he had led the movement with “pure passion and purpose” for 12 years.
“You have kept us united through some of the most turbulent times, and you've led us to an incredible Paris [Olympic Games], which I hope was one of the best ways we could all say thank you.”
The new IOC President added: “IOC Members are the guardians of this Movement. As the Olympic Movement, as Federations, as NOCs, as our sponsors and our partners, we are the guardians of this incredible platform. And it's not just about a multi-sport event. It's a platform to inspire. It's a platform to change lives. And it's a platform to bring hope.”
List of IOC Presidents: 1894-1896, Demetrius Vikelas; 1896-1925, Pierre de Coubertin; 1925-1942, Henri de Baillet-Latour; 1942-1946, J. Sigfrid Edström (Vice-President and Acting President); 1946-1952, J. Sigfrid Edström; 1952-1972, Avery Brundage; 1972-1980, Lord Killanin; 1980-2001, Juan Antonio Samaranch; 2001-2013, Jacques Rogge; 2013-2025, Thomas Bach; 2025-: Kirsty Coventry.
