C OSTA NAVARINO, Greece — 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.

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

Kirsty Coventry, an Olympic champion swimmer turned sports administrator, was on Thursday elected as the new president of the International Olympic Committee, marking an historic milestone as the first African and first female to lead the Olympic movement.