LAUSANNE, June 23 (Xinhua) -- A special handover ceremony has started on Monday at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland during which Zimbabwe's Kirsty Coventry takes over the IOC presidency from Thomas Bach.

The 41-year-old former Olympic swimming champion, now the IOC's 10th president, is the first woman and the first African to lead the global sports body in its 131-year history. ■