Zimbabwe's Christy Coventry makes history as 1st woman to gead IOC

Zimbabwe's Christy Coventry made history as the first woman and the first person from Africa to chair the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

The 41-year-old won 49 out of the possible 97 possible votes in the 144th IOC general assembly in Greece's Pylos on Thursday.

The former swimming star will take the post as the 10th president replacing the outgoing president Thomas Bach of Germany.

Expressing her delight at the move, Coventry said "This is an extraordinary moment. As a nine-year-old girl I never thought that I would be standing up here one day, getting to give back to this incredible movement of ours".