20 Mar, 17:28

Russian sports minister expects Olympic movement to grow stronger under new IOC president

Mikhail Degtyarev congratulated Kirsty Coventry on her election as President of the International Olympic Committee

MOSCOW, March 20. /TASS/. Sports Minister and Russian Olympic Committee President Mikhail Degtyarev expects the Olympic movement to become stronger and more independent during Kirsty Coventry's term as president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Russian athletes to return to the Olympic podium.

On Thursday, Coventry was elected president of the IOC in the first round of voting. She will take office on June 24, until then the committee will be led by its previous head, Germany's Thomas Bach. The election took place at the 144th IOC session in Greece.

"On behalf of the Russian Olympic Committee, I congratulate Kirsty Coventry on her election as President of the International Olympic Committee. Her brilliant sporting career, Olympic victories, records and contributions to the development of sport made her one of the favorites of this campaign. We expect the Olympic movement to become stronger, more independent and more prosperous in the era of the new leader and hope that Russia will return to the Olympic podium," Degtyarev wrote on his Telegram page.

The future IOC president is 41 years old. She is a two-time Olympic champion (2004, 2008) in the 200-meter backstroke. She also has three Olympic silver medals, one bronze medal and is a three-time world champion. She has been Zimbabwe's Minister of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture since 2018. Coventry has been a member of the IOC Executive Board since 2023, having served as a member from 2018-2021.

Bach, 71, was elected IOC president for an eight-year term in 2013 and re-elected for a four-year term in 2021. During Bach's IOC presidency, Russian sport has been sanctioned several times, most recently after the start of the special military operation in Ukraine. Russian athletes were banned from international competitions in 2022, and in March 2023 it was recommended that they be allowed to participate in tournaments only in neutral status and only if they are not affiliated with the armed forces and do not represent team sports.

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