Coventry in annals of sporting history

ahead of the Olympics in May.
She is now gearing up for the EDF Swimming Open in France, from  July 6.
She will continue to the London Olympics, where she is expected to compete in the 100m backstroke, the 200m backstroke and the 200m individual medley.
She was described by Paul Chingoka, the former head of the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee, as “our national treasure”.
Zimbabwean President Mugabe has called her “a golden girl,” and awarded her US$100 000 in cash for her 2008 Olympic performance.
While still at high school, Coventry was named Zimbabwe’s Sports Woman of the Year after becoming the first Zimbabwean swimmer to reach the semi-finals at the Olympics.
She was first coached by a local butcher and his wife. In 2001 she moved to the United States to study at Auburn University, where she was coached by Kim Brackin, who led her to back-to-back medals.
In 2008 she broke her first world record in the 200m backstroke at the Missouri Grand Prix.
Her second world record was at the 2008 Manchester Short Course World Championships, winning the gold in the 400m individual medley.
The next day she won another gold in the 100m backstroke, creating the second fastest time in the history of the event. Her website lists a full string of the World Records she possesses.
However, her place at the Olympics was rocked at the end of March when she dislocated her kneecap while on a training run. She was only able to continue training with a buoy strapped to her legs, although the injury luckily didn’t chip any ligaments or bones.
She told The Telegraph: “I was really scared when this happened. It has happened before, but never this close to the Olympics. I remain positive that I can get back on track for the Games soon after my knee is strong again.
After being on crutches for a while she has recovered well enough for the EDF, and looks forward with a mixture of competitive spirit and philosophical awareness to competing against swimmers up to a decade younger than herself in London.
“In athletics, older runners tend to go for longer races, but it’s the opposite in swimming because your body can’t handle the endurance. I will have to be more open to focusing on the shorter events and just be comfortable with that.”
“The young swimmers have the ability to recover a lot quicker — in training and in competition. For me, I have the advantage of knowing what I am walking into, I know my body and what I can and can’t do. It’s a wisdom that comes with age and experience,” she told The Telegraph. — The South African.com