The changeover is part of a leadership succession plan approved by the Board of Athletics Australia, founded in 1897, after Arbib revealed his intention to step down from the position in March, having led the governing body for six years.

Swinhoe first joined the Athletics Australia Board of Directors in 2014 and became senior vice-resident the following year.

She was the co-author of The Glasgow Review following the 2014 Commonwealth Games, and she is also currently on the Audit, Risk and Finance, People and Culture and Board Nomination Committees.

Swinhoe also sits on the Boards of several institutions including Mercer Superannuation Australia Limited, where she is the chairman, Swiss Re Australia and New Zealand, IMB Bank and Australian Philanthropic Services.

Most recently, Swinhoe was announced as the prospective chair of the inaugural Board of Australian Athletics should the planned OneAthletics merger with Little Athletics Australia take place in December this year.

"I am incredibly proud and appreciative to the Board of Athletics Australia for their faith in my ability to lead our sport forward," Swinhoe said.

"It has been remarkable to be involved in the growth of Australian athletics since I joined the Board in 2014 and it is a great honour to be given the responsibility of President as we embark on a new chapter in our sport.

"I am a firm believer in athletics for life and it's something that I am deeply passionate about.

"Growing up in country NSW (New South Wales), I saw the impact of sport in creating inclusive communities.

"My three children have all been involved in Little Athletics, with two of them still involved in the sport in their early 20s.

"Athletics continues to be an important part of my family's life and I look forward to it playing an even bigger role in the coming years."

Australia finished joint 27th on the athletics medal table at Tokyo 2020 with a silver for Nicola McDermott in the women's high jump and bronzes for Ashley Moloney in the men's decathlon and Kelsey-Lee Barber in the women's javelin.

"Our sport is in an extremely strong position going forward and as the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics showed, we are poised for a golden period of results ahead," said Arbib, who will remain on Athletics Australia's Board until the Annual General Meeting next month.

"I will continue to work actively to support Jan and her team on the national unification vote as we can't miss this once in a lifetime opportunity to unite all branches of athletics."

Swinhoe praised the role that Arbib had played.

"Mark leaves a great legacy behind and big shoes for me to fill," he said.

"Among the many achievements during his Presidency were revolutionising track and field in Australia and globally with the launch of Nitro Athletics and bringing the then-Olympic 100m champion and world's fastest man Usain Bolt to Australia to race in the series.

"Mark also secured the Bathurst World Cross Country Championships, led the success of the Australian athletics teams at the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, and helped realise OneAthletics, just to name a few of these achievements."

Australian Olympic Committee President John Coates welcomed the appointment of Swinhoe.

"Her background in business is of the highest calibre and will certainly assist Athletics Australia as the sport transitions with the proposed merger with Little Athletics later this year," he said.

"Importantly, it's very clear Jan has a passionate commitment and deep personal connection to the sport.

"She appreciates its great diversity and has been a committed advocate for the new path for athletics in Australia.

"It's an exciting time given the enormous interest our track and field athletes generated in Tokyo with so many wonderful results and huge television audiences. 

"The future of athletics in Australia is in very safe hands."