Kirsty Coventry

About Kirsty Coventry

Kirsty Leigh Coventry (born September 16, 1983) is a Zimbabwean swimmer and world record holder. Born in Harare, Zimbabwe, she attended and swam competitively for Auburn University in Alabama, in the United States. At the 2004 Summer Olympics, in Athens, Greece, Coventry won three Olympic medals: a gold, a silver, and a bronze. She was subsequently described by Paul Chingoka, head of the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee, as "our national treasure". Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe called her "a golden girl".

At Auburn, Coventry helped lead the Tigers to NCAA Championships in 2003 and 2004. In 2005, she was the top individual scorer at the NCAA Championships and captured three individual titles including the 200 and 400 individual medley (IM), and the 200 backstroke for the second consecutive season. She was named the College Swimming Coaches Association Swimmer of the Meet for her efforts. Other awards include 2005 SEC Swimmer of the Year, the 2004-2005 SEC Female Athlete of the Year, and the 2005 Honda Award Winner for Swimming.

In 2000, while in still in high school, Coventry became the first Zimbabwe swimmer to reach the semifinals at the Olympics and was named Zimbabwe's Sports Woman of the Year.