Kirsty Leigh Coventry (Zimbabwe)
The Zimbabwean swimmer specializes in backstroke and four medley competitions. Her first participation in the Olympic Games was in 2000 in Sydney. She subsequently became the first individual Olympic champion of her country at the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004. Coventry, born in September 1983 in Harare, has won several awards at the world championships, including two world titles won in 2005 in Montreal. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Coventry retained her Olympic title in the 200 backstroke and won three other silver medals. The president at the time, Robert Mugabe gave her a check for US$ 100,000 for her excellent performance at the Beijing Olympics. She, however, handed over a portion of the money to charity.
