COSTA NAVARINO, Greece (AP) — Kirsty Coventry was elected president of the International Olympic Committee on Thursday and became the first woman and first African to get perhaps the biggest job in world sports. “It is a signal that we are truly global,” the Zimbabwe sports minister and two-time Olympic swimming gold medalist said.

Kirsty Coventry smashed through the International Olympic Committee’s glass ceiling on Thursday to become the organisation’s first female and first African president in its 130-year history.

Coventry was chosen over six other candidates, including Lord Sebastian Coe and Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr, to succeed Thomas Bach.