Kirsty carries Zim’s hopes

Beijing, China, fours ago.
Team Zimbabwe walked away with one gold and three silver medals to emerge as the third-best African team at the Beijing Games.
The four medals brought to seven that the country has won at the last two Olympics — quite a remarkable achievable achievement for a landlocked country of a population of just under 14 million people.
In fact, all the seven medals that Zimbabwe has won at the last two Olympic Games — two golds, four silvers and one bronze — have been coming from one source — swimmer Kirsty Coventry.
And Coventry is back again at this year’s Olympic Games here in London carrying the country’s hopes of picking more medals at the world’s biggest sporting extravaganza.
At this year’s Games, Coventry will be making a record fourth straight appearance at the Olympics after having made her first dance with the Games in 2000 in Sydney, Australia, where she became the first swimmer from Zimbabwe to reach the semi-finals of a swimming event at the world’s biggest sporting showcase.
That was a sign of bigger things to come for her as she’s been a revelation at the last two Olympics in Athens, Greece, in 2004 and Beijing, China, in 2008.
Coventry took the 2004 Athens Games by storm when she came out with a full set of medals — one gold, one silver and one bronze.
The gold medal that Coventry won in Athens came from her favourite stroke — the women’s 200m backstroke.
This was a phenomenal achievement from the then young United States-based swimmer as it became the second gold medal to be won by Zimbabwe at Modern Olympic Games following the one that was picked up by the women’s hockey side — The Golden Girls — at the boycotted 1980 Moscow Games in the then Soviet Union (now Russia).
Coventry then showed that her brilliant performance at the Athens Games was no fluke when she mined another gold medal at the next Games in Beijing in 2008 by successfully defending her women’s 200m backstroke title.
Coventry even went one better at the Beijing Games where she emerged from the pool with a total of four medals — one gold and three silvers — thereby becoming the most decorated Zimbabwean athletes in the history of the Modern Olympic Games.
And now the spotlight once again falls on Coventry as she leads Team Zimbabwe out at this year’s London Olympic Games which explodes into life this evening.
Apart from going for a hat-trick of victories in the women’s 200m backstroke, Coventry will also be searching for gold in two other events at the London Games — the 100m backstroke and 200m individual medley.
She will take part in her first event of the Games — the 100m backstroke heats — on Sunday before competing in the 200IM and then 200m backstroke later next week as she aims to bring more glory for her beloved country — Zimbabwe.
Meanwhile, unlike at the previous Games in Beijing four years ago where Zimbabwe was represented by a relatively strong team of 13 athletes, only seven, led by Coventry, are carrying the country’ flag at this year’s London Games.
The other six athletes that will be on national duty for Zimbabwe at these Games are three marathon runners Wirimayi Juwawo, Cuthbert Nyasango and Sharon Tavengwa, triathlete Chris Felgate and two rowers James Fraser Mackenzie and Micheen Thornycroft.
All these six other athletes have slim chances of winning a medal of any colour at the London Games where they are going to face some stiff competition from a number of world renowned competitors in their respective disciplines.
And this leaves swimmer Coventry as our only hope of bringing more Olympic Games glory to the nation.
But Coventry and her fellow teammates in Team Zimbabwe are also motivated and highly confident of a good showing in London.
Success is fuelled by passion and there’s much optimism from the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee as the country gets ready for the start of the 30th Olympic Games in London tonight.
And let the Games begin!