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She travelled all over the world seeking fame and fortune, hauled in almost every swimming accolade at stake only to find the greatest medal of all in her backyard.
Cupid’s arrow has hit swimming sensation Kirsty Coventry, and Standardsport can reveal the Golden Girl’s flame is a Zimbabwean.
The 26-year old gold fish has dumped her base in Texas, United States for the last nine years and pitched tent in Johannesburg, South Africa to be, in more sense than one, “close to my family and home here in Zimbabwe”.
Lyn Coventry, the world champion’s mother exclusively revealed to Standardsport that her daughter was in relationship with a Zimbabwean back home.
But wedding bells are not ringing any time soon.
“I think she has decided to come back to her roots but she is not getting married very soon. I have met him (the suitor) but they are not getting married soon. She is very busy with her career,” Lyn said.
The world champion’s mother could not reveal the name of the lucky man save to say only that he is Zimbabwean.
The swimming sensation’s love life has been one of most closely guarded secrets.
Only once did Kirsty let the cat out of the bag but it was an earlier liaison.
Writing on her blog for swimroom.com on June 23 2007 she said “I don’t know if I mentioned Chris last time, but he’s the man in my life. We have been dating for about 10 months and just moved in together, very exciting”.
This is probably the only man in her life, who was known to the swimming fraternity.
She came to Zimbabwe on a private visit with the United States born Chris Desantis in 2008 and holidayed in the Victoria Falls and Kariba resorts.
Desantis (26) is a swimming coach at Georgia University in the United States.
Lyn said the relationship between Kirsty and Desantis ended in April last year just after the world championships.
“You always come back to your roots. The man (she is dating) is Zimbabwean and he is not famous. They (Chris and Kirsty) broke up after the world championships (2009),” Lyn said.
Lyn said it was good that Kirsty had decided to move base to Johannesburg because “we will see her more often. We used to see her once a year if we were lucky”.
She said Kirsty had several business opportunities in South Africa.
“She would come back to Zimbabwe if they were business opportunities. South Africa is also easier for her to commute to Zimbabwe.
If we had sponsors in Zimbabwe she would come back,” Lyn said.
Kirsty could not be reached for comment after flying to the United States from her South African base.
The two-time Olympic gold medallist for Zimbabwe has been living in South Africa since November last year.
She is now based in Johannesburg but will continue training and swimming under the Pretoria-based Players Academy, which is run by South African 4x100m freestyle relay Olympic gold medallist Ryk Neethling.
She said recently that she would continue swimming for Zimbabwe at all major international events, including next year’s World Championships in Shanghai and at the 2012 London Olympic Games.
She is expected back in the country in April for the launch of Team Zimbabwe for the inaugural Youth Olympic Games. The games will he held in Singapore in August.
She said she hadn’t set a timeframe for her retirement, but was likely to call it quits after the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
Coventry first won an Olympic gold medal in the women’s 200m backstroke during the 2004 Athens Games in Greece and repeated that remarkable feat at the Beijing Games in China four years later.
All in all, she has seven Olympic Games medals— two gold, four silver and one bronze.
Coventry is the current world record holder in the women’s 200m backstroke with a time of 2 minutes 04.81 seconds set at the last Fina World Championships in Rome, Italy, in August last year.
The champion’s signature race is the 200m backstroke.
Despite the stardom, the former Dominican Convent girl is still down to earth.
The swimmer’s parents Rob and Lyn still live at their modest Victorian style home in Newlands.
“Many think that she has made a fortune but most of her earnings are chewed up by her travels. She also has to pay her coach and physiotherapist as well,” Lyn said.
She said Kirsty was setting up a business so that she could have something to fall back on when she retires. Kirsty holds a degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management obtained at Auburn University in the United States in 2006.
BY FANUEL VIRIRI
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