Olympic history at the IOC: Thomas Bach passes presidency to Kirsty Coventry

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.

The key, designed by Spanish artist André Ricard, who also created the torch of the Olympic Games Barcelona 1992 and the Olympic fire crucible at the Olympic Museum, was first passed during the handover from Juan Antonio Samaranch to Jacques Rogge in 2001.

More than 700 assembled 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.

A standing ovation also followed when Thomas Bach received the Olympic Order in Gold from Kirsty Coventry. The Olympic Order is the highest honour granted by the International Olympic Committee to individuals who have rendered outstanding services to the Olympic cause through their contribution to the Olympic Movement.

In his speech, Thomas 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.

He continued: 

To everyone who brings our Olympic community to life – the athletes, the National Olympic Committees and International Federations, our TOP Partners and Media Rights-Holders, and our devoted IOC staff, guided by our Director General: each of you has shaped this, our shared Olympic journey, in your own way. Your belief in our mission, your unwavering support – I have felt it every step. In difficult moments, it was your support that helped us to navigate forward. Without all of you, the Olympic Movement would not be where it is today.

Addressing the assembled audience, Bach reminded them that his decision not to continue as IOC President beyond his tenure was rooted in his belief that “new times call for new leadership”. He went on to say: “at our last Session in Greece, you – my fellow IOC Members – elected this new leader. You have placed your trust in someone whose life story is deeply rooted in the Olympic Movement. As an Olympian, she knows what it means to live the Olympic values. She knows how to lead with courage. She is driven by a desire to give back to our Olympic Movement that has shaped her life. Now she makes history: Mrs Kirsty Coventry.”

Bach explained: 

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.

She brings her own unique style and her own dynamic perspective. She has a new voice that resonates with the young generation.This is why I say, full of confidence: from tomorrow on, with Kirsty Coventry, the Olympic Movement will be in the best of hands. This is why, I am at peace.

This is why, my heart is full of gratitude, full of confidence and full of joy.

In this spirit of gratitude, confidence and joy, I hand over the keys of Olympic House to Mrs Kirsty Coventry, the 10th President of the International Olympic Committee.