AFTER waving goodbye to an illustrious Olympic career in which she won seven of the Zimbabwe’s eight Olympic medals since 1980, swimming icon Kirsty Coventry says she hopes to continue inspiring people off the pool long after her final race.
BY DANIEL NHAKANISO
Coventry (32) capped off her Olympic swansong with a commendable sixth-place finish in the 200 metre backstroke final in Rio de Janeiro last Sunday in her fifth and final Summer Games dating back to Sydney 2000.
The former world record holder, who shares the record of seven individual swimming medals with Hungarian swimmer Krisztina Egerszegi said although this was her last Olympics, she would remain actively involved in sport long after her retirement from the sport in the future.
“This is my last time to compete (at the Olympics), but I will remain very active in the world of sport,” Coventry said in an e-mailed response from Rio de Janeiro on Friday. “Competing in my fifth Olympic Games is still unbelievable — and coming 6th at my 5th Olympics is surreal. I am so happy and I have so much to reflect on, and I have been so blessed to represent my country and I cannot wait to get back home.”
Coventry has been a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Athletes’ Commission since 2012 in addition to being an athlete committee member at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
Asked if this was the start of a career in sport administration after her retirement Coventry said: “Absolutely! I am passionate about sport because of the opportunities it has given me and I hope to provide the same for others in my new role.”
The revered swimmer set-up a swimming academy named after her in the country last year in an effort to reduce drowning incidents by utilising water safety and drowning prevention campaigns.
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Having previously worked with the African Medical and Research Foundation and swimwear brand, Arena in Kenya to provide water security, as well as providing swimming workshops in Zimbabwe, Coventry said she would continue using her influence to empower communities through sport.
“My foundation (the Kirsty Coventry Foundation) will be using sport as a vehicle to uplift communities and empower individuals through a number of collaborative partnerships and engaging with provincial ambassadors. I am so excited about this because of the opportunities it will provide as well as the benefits it is going to bring,” she said.
Coventry was born and bred in Zimbabwe where she attended Dominican Convent High School before moving to the US where she furthered her education while honing her swimming skills at Auburn University in Alabama.
She made her Olympic Games debut in Sydney in 2000 when she was just 16 but it was the 2004 Athens Olympics where she won her first Olympic gold medal as well as silver and bronze.
The Athens Olympics marked the beginning of a record-breaking career as she went on to win four more medals in the Beijing Olympics in 2008, including retaining the gold medal in her specialty event, the 200m backstroke.
After the 2008 Olympics performance, she was hailed as one of Zimbabwe’s greatest heroes, and called a national treasure by the head of the country’s Olympic Committee. President Robert Mugabe also awarded her $100 000 cash for her Olympic medal wins, and called her a “golden girl”.
