Coventry wins seventh gold medal

Coventry wins seventh gold medal

• Coventry claims 2 gold medals at All Africa Games

• It's Kirsty again!

• Mugabe gives Coventry diplomatic passport

• Zim rolls out red carpet for Coventry

• Your shouts on Coventry's victory

• Coventry unites nation

• Mugabe leads tributes after Coventry stunner

• Zimbabwe heroine Coventry wins Olympic gold

• Heroine Coventry clinches second medal for Zim

• Coventry wins Olympic silver

ZIMBABWE'S double Olympic champion Kirsty Coventry has given her troubled country something to cheer with SEVEN gold medals at the All Africa Games in Algeria, two of them coming on Wednesday.

Her medals came thick and furious in a six-day spell.

On Wednesday, Coventry won the women's 50-meter freestyle in 26.19 followed by a victory in the 200 medley, setting a games record of 2:13.02.

If the freestyle sprint was modest in world terms, at 26.19, the medley was not, triumph hers in 2:13.02.

Coventry also helped Zimbabwe to the silver medal in the 4x100 freestyle relay behind a dominant South African quartet, for whom victory took 4:10.90.

But the swimming competition was almost marred by a rowdy crowd who hurled three empty bottles into the pool, reviving memories of the Arab Games three years ago when swimming was scrapped from the programme following crowd trouble.

Coventry, arguably the country's most susccessful athlete in history, delighted Zimbabweans with her Athens Olympics heroics -- including President Robert Mugabe who went on to give her a diplomatic passport and US$50 000 "pocket money".

"She did us proud. Well done golden girl, may God lead you in the future because you are one with us, we are together," Mugabe said in 2004 during a reception for the swimmer.
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