Harare, Mar 24 (AP) Newly elected International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry arrived in her home country of Zimbabwe to a hero's welcome as her victory is celebrated as a national milestone. The southern African country has faced years of isolation and sanctions by the United States and other Western nations. Also Read | IPL 2025: Suryakumar Yadav Feels Mumbai Indians Fell 15-20 Runs Short; Names Chennai Super Kings Star Who Took Game Away From Them. The 41-year-old Coventry, who is also Zimbabwe's sports minister, was the only female candidate in the IOC presidency race and became the first woman and first African to be elected head of the global Olympic movement. She beat six other candidates in the vote in Greece on Thursday, including the head of world track and field, the head of international cycling and a member of Jordan's royal family. Also Read | Sanju Samson Becomes First Player to Score 4000 Runs for Rajasthan Royals in Indian Premier League, Achieves Feat in SRH vs RR IPL 2025 Match. “It's not just my success, it is our success. We broke down barriers,” Coventry said in Zimbabwe on Sunday. Dancers in animal fur kilts and head gear made from bird feathers stomped the ground as part of a traditional African folklore dance to the sound of trumpets and drums to welcome Coventry home as she arrived at an airport in the capital, Harare. Dozens of others, including female cricketers, young karatekas and children in school uniform cheered loudly. “Men have dominated sport for so long, I am thrilled that one of our own is now at the very top where she can tackle the issues affecting women in sports,” said Abigail Madera, a female boxing referee. “This is not just a personal victory, it will put Zimbabwe on the global stage,” said Women Affairs Minister Monica Mutsvangwa at the welcoming ceremony at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport. Coventry is an ex-Zimbabwe swimmer and was the back-to-back Olympic champion in the 200 meters backstroke at the 2004 and 2006 Games. She retired from swimming after the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016 with seven Olympic medals and is the most decorated Olympian from Africa. Coventry was widely praised in her country as a source of pride and a unifying figure during her swimming career. Her decision to take the job of sports minister in 2018 has been scrutinized, though, given the Zimbabwean government has long been questioned over its human rights record and is regularly accused of clamping down on political opposition. Critics in 2020 also accused Coventry of benefitting from political patronage after accepting a government lease on a farm that was seized during the country's often violent land reforms that evicted about 4,000 white farmers for tens of thousands of Blacks more than two decades ago. Many of those critics have welcomed her election and posted congratulatory messages. Coventry has said she will resign from her Zimbabwe minister's job to move to the Olympic home city of Lausanne in Switzerland. Her eight-year term in charge of the IOC begins in June. Pressing issues at the Olympic body include athletes' benefits, Russia's future after its suspension over the war in Ukraine, gender eligibility, and how to deal with U.S. President Donald Trump with Los Angeles set to host the next Summer Olympics in 2028. (AP) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)