Kirsty Coventry to Represent Zim in 2016 Olympics

via Kirsty Coventry to Represent Zim in 2016 Olympics 05.11.2013 by Michael Kariati for VOA Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe’s swimming icon, Kirsty Coventry, has declared that she will be represent Zimbabwe in the 2016 Rio Olympic Games despite her failure to win medals in the last world competition

Speaking at a public forum today titled “Food for Thought: Sacrifice, Persevere, Believe”, organized by the U.S Embassy, Coventry said she will be at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games which will be her last since arriving on the international stage at the 2004 Games in Athens.

She noted that when she hit the big sports scene, her aim was to win medals at the Olympic Games and now her dream is to win one or two medals before she is thrown into the history books.

Coventry bemoaned over the state of sport in the country saying a huge gap has been created between her time and now, adding that something needs to be done urgently if Zimbabwe was to get back to the top.

As a result, she said, she is setting up an academy in Harare whose target would be to identify talented swimmers and expose them to high level training.

Coventry is widely regarded as the most successful Zimbabwe sportsperson with four medals at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games and three in Beijing China.

After failing to win a medal at the London Olympics, word was that she will be calling it quits but she is giving it another chance.