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ZIMBABWE’S swimming icon Kirsty Coventry gave herself a huge morale-booster ahead of next month’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, when she won the 200m backstroke event on the final night of the Speedo Sectional Championship at Greensboro in North Carolina, United States, on Sunday.
This year’s Olympic Games are set to run from August 5 to 21 in Rio de Janeiro where Coventry will be taking part in her fifth straight Olympics and will be representing Zimbabwe in the women’s 100 and 200m backstroke events.
In the last week Coventry (32) fine-tuned for the Rio Games by competing in the Speedo Sectional Championship in Greensboro.
Coventry remains Zimbabwe’s biggest medal hopeful in what will be her swansong Games.
Sunday was night four, the final night of the Speedo Sectional Championship in Greensboro, and it was the night of scratches. Numerous top eight swimmers from multiple events in the preliminaries skipped out on the chance to swim again at night.
Because of the early departures, many swimmers moved up to the A final, but close competition for the gold medal was limited. Perhaps the most obvious withdrawal was Bridgette Alexander from Kentucky Aquatics, the number one seed after prelims in the 200 back.
Zimbabwean swimmer and former world record holder, Coventry of SwimMAC Carolina swam within half a second of Alexander in prelims, but blew away competition in the finals by nearly eight seconds without her in the running with a time of 2:10.99.
Brooke Forde from Lakeside powered into second in 2:18.21 and Kathryn Ford of North Carolina Aquatics touched soon after in third place with a time of 2:19.51.
In the girls 200 breast, there were two more top eight finishers from prelims who scratched, but Kendra Crew of Kentucky Aquatics and University of Kentucky record holder looked untouchable regardless of the scratches. Crew finished in 2:31.28, followed by two DYNA swimmers: Julia Shuford in 2:36.87 and Allie Reiter in 2:38.08.
The girls 100 freestyle lost four of the top eight finishers, giving second chances to swim in the A final to four more who initially qualified for the B final. Alexia Zevnik, the prelim winner from NC State University, drove into first again with a time of 56.20. She was trailed by two Lakeside swimmers finishing in second and third. Brooke Bauer, the third place finisher in the 50 free, came in at 57.54 barely out touching Monica McGrath who finished with a time of 57.61.
Online Reporter