admin
Collin Matiza
Sports Editor
HAVING been retained as Zimbabwe’s Minister of Sport by President Mnangagwa on Monday, the country’s swimming icon Kirsty Coventry has got another date with destiny on September 30.
Coventry will be recognised for her remarkable achievements as an Olympic Games swimmer by being inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame during the 58th Annual Hall of Fame Induction and Specialty Awards ceremony.
This year’s ceremony will be held at Lillian S. Wells at The Parker in the City of Lauderdale in Florida, United States.
The Induction Ceremony will be hosted by Dara Torres, a 12-time Olympic medallist.
The honorees will share their Olympic stories in their own words while the event includes special presentation to each of these aquatic greats.
And Zimbabwe’s swimming icon Coventry is set to be recognised for her achievements during her illustrious career by being inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) on September 30.
Coventry is set to be inducted as one of five Honour Swimmers as part of the International Swimming Hall of Fame’s Class of 2023.
Coventry and record Olympic medal winner Michael Phelps are among those to be inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
Coventry (39) is an International Olympic Committee (IOC) member who is being talked about as a prospective future candidate for the IOC Presidency.
The seven-time Olympic swimming medallist is the most decorated Olympian in any sport from Africa.
She and Krisztina Egerszegi share the record for the most individual Olympic medals in women’s swimming.
Coventry competed in five Olympic Games, from 2000 to 2016, and has won all but one of Zimbabwe’s eight Olympic medals.
She won two Olympic golds after tasting glory in the 200 metres backstroke at Athens 2004 in Greece and Beijing 2008 in China.
Coventry also won four silvers and one bronze, all in individual events.
She is a four-time world champion and a five-time world record holder, and since 2018 has been serving as Zimbabwe’s Minister of Sport.
A five-time Olympian for Zimbabwe, Coventry is tied for the most Olympic medals won by a woman swimmer, having won seven medals between the 2004 and 2008 Games.
After retiring from the sport in 2016 following the Rio de Janeiro Games in Brazil, she began a career in politics, becoming Zimbabwe’s Minister of Youth, Sport, Arts, and Recreation beginning in
September of 2018 in addition to hold ing several leadership positions within the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The 39-year-old five-time Olympian is one of the 13 honorees from eight countries who will be honoured during the September 30 induction ceremony in Fort Lauderdale.
Coventry is the most decorated Olympian from Africa.
The September 30 list is headlined by American superstar Phelps, who won 23 gold and five other medals across five Olympics starting at the Sydney 2000 Olympics in Australia and his longtime coach Bob Bowman.
The others include Paralympics legend Trischa Zorn-Hudson, Missy Franklin, Kosuke Kitajima and Cesar Cielo, diver Wu Minxia, artistic swimmer Natalia Ischenko, water polo player Heather Petri, open-water swimmer Stèphane Lecat, coach Chris Carver and special contributor, South Africa’s anti-apartheid campaigner Sam Ramsamy.
Announcing Coventry’s induction, the International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF) recently said: “Kirsty Coventry is the most decorated Olympian from the continent of Africa.
And not just in swimming, in ALL sports. She and Kristina Egerszegi are tied for having won the most individual Olympic medals in women’s swimming.
“She has competed in five Olympic Games, from 2000-2016, and she won all but one of Zimbabwe’s Olympic medals.
In total, she won two gold, four silver and one bronze Olympic medals, all individual.
She is a four-time world champion and five-time World Record holder. She is a 22-time medallist at her native All-Africa Games, 14 of which were gold.
And to show her versatility, the events ran from the 50 to 800m freestyle, to the breaststroke events, IM and her signature backstroke.”
Beyond her success in the pool, Coventry has been a member of the International Olympic Committee for more than a decade, helping to ensure positive experiences for athletes.
She also served in roles with World Aquatics and the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Coventry will be remembered for her multi-event talent and enduring legacy as a major factor in international competitions.
Online Reporter