Zimbabwe heroine Coventry wins Olympic gold

Zimbabwe heroine Coventry wins Olympic gold

DUNNIT!: Kirsty celebrates after her triumph

• Heroine Coventry clinches second medal for Zim

• Coventry wins Olympic silver

• Cara Black basks in Wimbledon glory

By Sports Reporter

ZIMBABWE'S Kirsty Coventry completed her stunning heroics at the Athens Olympics when she won GOLD in the 200-meter backstroke Friday night.

She already won a silver in the 100 back and a bronze in the 200 individual medley in Athens.

What will be the most fitting honour Zimbabwe can give to Coventry? Send your comments to ozzie@newzimbabwe.com

Coventry led all the way and finished in 2 minutes, 9.19 seconds.

Stanislava Komarova of Russia, an 18-year-old who was the fastest qualifier, earned silver in 2:09.72. Reiko Nakamura of Japan took bronze in 2:09.88.

Coventry swims at Auburn University, although her family lives in the Zimbabwe capital of Harare.

BELOW IS KIRSTY'S DIARY SINCE ARRIVING IN ATHENS:
Friday 20/08/04
Today I have been mentally preparing for my last race at the Olympics.

I can't believe how quickly it has gone. Last night was awesome.

Auburn had a really good evening in the pool. Unfortunately, Fred did not make it back to finals in the 50 freestyle, but Brett Hawke qualified second. He looks great and has been so much fun to be around - AUsome spirits.

I felt a lot better last night getting ready for my race. My prelims swim was ok, but my chest felt tight from my asthma and I was a bit tired. As we waited in the ready room we heard the results of the men's 200 Back where Aaron Peirsol, my Auburn teammate Hayley's brother, was disqualified after winning the Gold. It was very controversial and we were all sitting there wondering "How? Why?" We found out it was because of an illegal turn. I think it made both of our heats of backstrokers a touch nervous!

Margaret Hoelzer swam in the first heat. She felt great this morning so I knew she would do awesome. She's been waiting all meet long to get in that pool! She did really well and had another good swim at night; I knew her time would be fast enough to qualify for finals. I was up next in the second heat and feeling good about getting in to race. This time I went out a little faster instead of waiting for the second hundred to move. It felt very strong. I could feel the Russian girl next to me and tried to push it a little more at the end but I didn't quite catch her. She finished at 2:09 high and I was 2:10.0. I am qualified 2nd and Margaret is 5th. I feel like we both have great chances to get on that medal stand... hopefully one right next to the other! We warmed down together and then watched from the warm down pool as George Bovell got third in the 200 IM! That was such a great race. He was 6th at the 50 and the 100 wall! He had an awesome breaststroke split and was really tough on the freestyle! It was so fun to see his coach and family celebrating. It kind of brought winning a medal more into reality for me. We also heard that the Peirsol disqualification was overturned!!! YAY for Aaron!

This morning we watched prelims on the TV and saw Eileen qualify for semi finals! It was so great. She has been so into all of us racing - crying every time we do well! I can't wait to support her tonight as she swims in her first Olympic semi-final and hopefully moves on to the "big heat"!

After watching the morning session we went to my warm up swim. Kim (Brackin) and I talked about my race tonight. We made a few adjustments to my stroke and I think I am ready to go. Tonight I am racing at the Olympic games; no more making it "just another meet" in my head. My dream is to be up there on the award stand again, with Margaret, and finish up these Games in style!

War Eagle!!!

Kirsty

August 18, 2004

It's great to be an AUBURN TIGER!!! It is extremely hard to put my feelings into words. It is amazing to have set goals and had dreams of certain accomplishments and then achieve them! Winning two medals now is absolutely a dream come true and I must thank all of my Auburn Family for helping me do it.

The 100 back medal was not something I was as confident about, but instead more dreamed about. I was in lane one for the finals and I thought I have nothing to lose so why not just go out after it. I went out strong on the first 50 and with my training for my 200 events this summer I was able to hold my speed over the last 50. I couldn't see anyone because of my position in the pool so I just raced as hard as I could. It was amazing to turn up and look at the scoreboard and see a '2' next to my name! I had the biggest smile ever and I could see my Auburn teammates going crazy for me in the stands. I was also very happy when I finally noticed my time. It was a little over a two second drop from my previous best! Getting on the awards stand was so cool. Again, I had fun chatting with Natalie Coughlin; she showed me all of her family in the stands! Getting the medal put around my neck was so cool. And the wreath.... wow! I love the wreath! It is made from Olive branches and totally symbolizes Greece. The medal has the Goddess Nike on it. I have been told she is the Goddess who awarded the medals in ancient Greece - very cool. We did the walk down the deck where all the photographers take pictures, which was of course really cool too! Kim just got her pictures back of the ceremony and it got me excited all over again. We both said we need to watch the whole thing on TV to make it really sink in.

After the medal ceremony for the 100 back I had to immediately get ready for my 200 IM semi-final. I had about 1 hour from the end of my first race so we were a bit rushed. I felt really good about that race. I was very controlled on the first 150 of it, especially my backstroke, and then I really just pushed the freestyle. Kim said I got her a bit nervous! I qualified for finals in fourth place, which I thought was a very good position for me. After warming down again I had drug testing then off to the Village. I got to speak with my parents who were so excited and proud. It was great to hear their voices. My mom was upset during the live broadcast of the 100 back because at the finish they only focused in on Natalie's win and the had no idea who finished 2nd.

After cursing the TV, she screamed and jumped around with all my other family when they saw I had finished second! I wish so badly they could be here but I am glad they are broadcasting live coverage at home. I hear they stopped the TV programs to announce my finish to the country, which made me very proud. Zimbabwe has been so supportive of my swimming here at the Games and I am so thankful for that as well.

So, on Tuesday I got to sleep in and we went for a training session here at the Village. I tried to relax the rest of the afternoon but it is hard to keep my mind of my races to come. I've been getting my daily rub from our physio Dorkas and taking a mid afternoon nap. We went to the pool that night - business as usual. I felt pretty good and my goal again was to swim for a medal. I knew my competition, Yana Klochkova of the Ukraine, and the two Americans, Amanda Beard and Katie Hoff, are all very good and were ready to race. I just tried to stay in my own race and not go out too hard in the first 50, which is butterfly. I had a good backstroke split and felt strong in the breaststroke I just didn't finish the free as well as I would have like. I am so happy with my finish but like a lot of athletes I am not satisfied! I love that event and really want to continue to train to be faster in it. The awards ceremony was great again. Not as much chit chatting this time because I don't know Amanda as well as Natalie but still we had a good time! This time I gave my wreath to Kim and I hear she wore it around for the rest of the evening and was quite popular because of it!

Our Auburn crew also did well. Fred (Bousquet), Romy (Barnier) and George (Bovell) all had good morning swims and made it back to semis.

It was fun to watch them race. Unfortunately, they didn't make it back to finals but we're super proud of them and look forward to Fred and George's best events which are to come!

Today I had a wonderful day! I got to go downtown to have lunch with my best friend Alessandra (Lawless) and her mom. We had a nice long lunch and giggled a lot. I had a light training session and will go back to the pool to watch finals tonight. I am really looking forward to tomorrow. I can't wait to race with Margaret (Hoelzer). We always push each other so well and bring out the best in one another.

Today George and Jeremy (Knowles) swam the 200 IM. Jeremy had a solid race but just missed semis. George had an awesome morning swim winning his heat to qualify third for the semi finals. Looks like his strokes are on! The girls finally got to get in and race! Jana (Kolukanova) and Eileen (Coparropa) had the 100 free. Neither made it back and I am sure they aren't extremely thrilled with their swims but it is so hard to keep your nerves intact, especially in your first race. Eileen still has the 50 free so now with this race under her belt she can let it rip!

Tonight we'll go back to watch George in the IM and my South African friends in the men's 100 Free. Hopefully everyone will be great!

War Eagle until tomorrow!

Kirsty

August 16, 2004

I never know where to start on my journals lately because I am writing them in the afternoon. I guess I need to update you on last night first! I am very happy with my swim from semi finals (of the 100 back). My goal was to make finals and then see what happens. I am in an incredible field of backstrokers tonight and am excited to see what I can do. It is great to be able to swim the 100 because I haven't been able to race it at SEC's or NCAA's during this past year; instead, I race the 400 IM. I was fairly relaxed during the semi last night. The event was introduced to the crowd so I had more time to absorb the environment. It was great to look up in to the stands and see all the people. During the race I felt great. This time I only really felt the pain the last 5 meters! Afterwards, I saw two of my teammates from Auburn, Alessandra Lawless, her mom and Ashley Rubenstein, who just came over to Greece to watch the Olympics. I waved to them and they let out a huge scream - it was great!

I immediately went to warm down because I knew Mark's breaststroke race would be up soon and I had to see it. The evenings have been getting quite cool and windy lately so I am having to bundle up at night. Kim and I hustled from the warm down pool to the racing pool just in time to watch Mark get up on the blocks. It was such an exciting race. He was out a bit slower than his prior race and in 8th place, but he came back so strong I thought for sure he was going to run the other swimmers down. He ended up finishing 4th which was disappointing because of course he wanted a medal, but FOURTH at the Olympic Games is amazing! I am so proud of him and excited for Mark for his accomplishments this year. I hope he gets a relay spot on the 400 Medley Relay!

After his race I finished my warm-down and then was hoping to watch the 4x100 Free Relay. My coaches of course thought it was a better idea for me to get back to the Village! Kim and I got back just in time to watch the relay on TV. It was exciting to see my friends on the South African relay break the World Record!

After that it was a snack and off to bed!

This morning was my favorite event, the 200 IM. I have been anxiously looking forward to it. I had to remember this morning though to swim it very relaxed. I did exactly what I was supposed to and it turned out great! I swam a personal best and feel great about my swim. I am really excited to race tonight - both the 100 back finals, my first Olympic final, and the 200 semi final.

Jeremy swam the 200 fly this morning and was just off his best time. He looks to be ready for a good 200 IM! Well, I just got up from my nap and now it is time to go get some food and head to the pool. I hope you are all enjoying watching the Games. We are having a blast experiencing it!

War Eagle!!
Kirsty

August 15, 2004

Well the meet is underway! Yesterday I went to the pool in the late morning to get my practice in and watch Mark's (Gangloff) swim. Oh, it was so exciting. He looked great, really relaxed and confident. He swam such an awesome swim and it was exactly what I needed to get me excited about my upcoming race. He gave us such a great smile when he got out of the pool - I knew the Auburn swim fast momentum had started rolling!

After my workout, we headed back to the Village to relax for the rest of the day. I used that time to mentally and physically prepare for my swim this morning. The physical part included shaving!!! That is what us swimmers always look forward to - especially the girls! It is different to shave without my teammates around so Kim (Brackin) kept me company and shaved too... just her legs though, no arms! I went for a quick dip in the recreational pool in the Village because I don't like to feel that "shaved" feeling right before I race... I need a little time to get used to it.

At night we gathered around the TV to watch the meet. It was important for me to stay back and keep cool and rested, especially since I had gone to Opening Ceremonies the night before. It was really exciting to watch Michael Phelps break the world record in the 400 IM - swims like that inspire me! The women's 400 IM was so close I thought the American, Kaitlyn Sandeno, would get the gold but she just missed! Of course, my favorite race of the night was Mark's. He was in a great heat and we had to look at the board to figure out how he finished... a 3-way tie in his heat which placed all of them tied for 4th. I think it is a great position for him; he will race hard to get a medal and racing hard is what we are all trained to do at Auburn. I can't wait to watch him swim tonight.

This morning I woke up at 6:45, headed to breakfast with my Zim teammate Brendan Ashby. Brendan swam the 100 back today too. He has been so much fun to have around. He makes me laugh all the time. Brendan swims for Alabama so I get to see him a few times during the year when we are at home in the States.

I felt good this morning but was still very nervous. I am always nervous before my first race because you just don't know what to expect. I just wanted a best time and to make it back to semi's. All my Auburn folks were doing their best to keep me having fun and confident; I am so lucky to have them here. I did my pace work, put my suit on and headed down to the ready room. That is where all the athletes racing that event wait for their heat. I was still a bit nervous but I had a nice conversation with one of my top competitors, Natalie Coughlin, and that helped take my mind off the race. She asked me all about Zimbabwe and my family; I love to tell people about where I am from.

The next thing I knew my heat was up. It all went very quickly. In the morning they do not introduce each competitor by name, we just get into the pool, so I didn't have much time to look around. I did hear someone cheer for me as it got quiet right before the start - probably Miss Diane and Cathy Sursi! I felt very good the first 50 - really smooth. I started to make a move during the second 50 and began to feel the pain a little. It was so great to look at the scoreboard and see 1:01.6! It is my best time and a new African Record. I knew I was capable of that time, but again, it is just nerve-wracking until you get that first swim out of you. Kim and David (Marsh) told me the race looked good, "very controlled", and gave me pointers on how to be faster tonight. I know I can be better and my goal is to keep that Auburn swim fast momentum continuing to roll!

Unfortunately, my teammate Brendan didn't have such a great swim for him. This was his first Olympics and maybe his nerves got to him a bit. He has had so much fun enjoying the experience though; he has about 6 hours of video footage of the Opening Ceremonies if anyone wants to see it! Now he'll become a cheerleader for me and his Bama teammates. I will admit, he has been doing some great cheering for the Auburn swimmers too!

Tonight it will be awesome to watch George (Bovell) in the 200 Free semi's, Mark in the Breaststroke finals and the Frenchies (Romy Barnier and Fred Bousquet ) on their relay. Please keep supporting us from home, we can feel your Auburn Pride all the way over here in Athens!

War Eagle!!!
Kirsty

August 14, 2004

What can I say... it (the opening ceremonies) was spectacular! Originally, I had planned to sit in the stands and watch the ceremonies but we did not have many tickets to allow us to do that so I had to decide whether to go or not to go... I decided I wanted to march! It was a lot of fun and I am so glad that I did. We got dressed in our uniforms which were my khaki pants - my new one's, not the men's size 36! We also wore a black shirt with traditional Zimbabwe prints down the front and my "favorite" colorful Zimbabwe baseball cap. We loaded buses and were taken to the gymnastics venue to wait for our entrance into the stadium. That time was lots of fun because between sitting and resting my legs we went on little walks to see my teammates. We saw Eileen and Dave Durden looking very smart in skirts/trousers and blazers. As I said, Eilleen was the flag bearer so she was very excited to be there! Then we went up to the USA section to look for Margaret. While we were there we saw all the basketball players. Lebron James was the most popular and Kim traded a pin with Amare Stoudemire. Margaret was as calm as she could be; she was just relaxing and soaking it all up. We also saw Cesaer who was having a blast trading pins.

We lined up two countries behind Estonia, Jana's team, and two countries in front of the USA! They used the Greek alphabet this year so instead of being next to last we were closer to the front. Walking into the stadium was so great. The crowd was really lively and it was absolutely huge! I saw a few Zim supporters in the stands waving our flag. We took one lap around on the track and then one more inside. Then Kim made me sit! It was great to see Eileen's big smile on the huge screen as she walked in for Panama! She looked so proud and pretty too!

We listened to the speeches from the organizers and then the Olympic Flag was raised. Of course the most spectacular part was to come. Above us in the air people came "running" in with fake torches; I think they were to symbolize past torch lighting ceremonies. They looked awesome. Then the actual torch came in. The night before it had been lighting up the Acropolis. Former Greek Olympians ran the torch around the stadium and then up a set of stairs where a GIANT torch was lowered to be lit by the flame. It was incredible! Then there were millions of fireworks! It was all very amazing and I was so glad we went to experience it. Luckily, I was shocked at how quickly we got out of there and back home - I was in bed by 1a.m. This morning I slept in and now I am off to the pool to catch Mark's swim. Unfortunately, I will miss Jeremy's 400 IM but I know he will make us proud!

Tomorrow is the start for me and I can't wait to get in that water. I feel a bit nervous, but as Maggie has told me before... "That's good, nervous is good!" I am just going to go do exactly what I have trained to do!

War Eagle!!!
Kirsty

August 13, 2004

Today the Opening Ceremonies mark the official opening of the Games... I am so excited! Everyone always wonders how the torch will be lit and what type of entertainment there will be. Normally, Zimbabwe is the last country before the host, but this year the Greeks are following the Greek alphabet and Z is the 6th letter. We should be about 56th in line. I am not sure yet whether I will march or watch from the stands; it is very tiring to march and I swim on Sunday. I marched in Sydney and it was a great experience. Most of my Auburn teammates have elected not to go in order to save their legs! The officials predict it will be 6-7 hours of standing, sitting and marching! Eileen will be there though because she is the flag bearer for Panama!

All of the Auburn kids are here now and we have so much fun together at the pool and especially at the cafeteria! We watch each other do our fast work during training and it inspires confidence in ourselves. Mark Gangloff swims the 100 Breaststroke tomorrow morning. I have scheduled my workout time to get there just before he swims so I can see him blaze down the pool!

Yesterday I had to go to an asthma clinic to get my asthma "verified" to make sure it was legal for me to take my medicine. It was quite a hard test but I "passed" with flying colors... which means yes, I have asthma and need my medicine. It is good that they are testing us though to make sure the Games are fair. After my test we went and bought new pants for my Opening Ceremonies uniform; they gave us size 36 men! It was fun to get out of the Village and see a bit of Athens. I look forward to seeing more when I am finished competing.

I hope you all enjoy watching the Ceremonies on TV. I will try to describe it to you all later as best as I can!

War Eagle!!!
Kirsty

August 10, 2004

Hi this is Kirsty coming straight to you from Athens. I am going to be a senior this year at Auburn, but I am from Zimbabwe. I will be competing in my second Olympic games in swimming. I am racing the 100 and 200-meter backstroke, and the 200 IM. I am excited to keep my Auburn family updated on my, and my Auburn teammates, experiences at the 2004 Olympics.

The village is great! Everything is laid out very well and easy to get around with all the buses. It is so neat to see all the flags of so many different nations. Cuba even has a three story flag with a picture of Fidel Castro! The Aussies have palm trees, grills and plasma TV’s to watch rugby on. The Americans aren’t here in force, but I am sure they will have something special too! We have a flat with two large Zimbabwe flags hanging off our balconies. Our staff is great and they are taking good care of us all.

This morning we had the official welcoming into the Olympic Village by the Mayor. It was very nice – they welcomed our Federation and our Chef de Mission and raised the Zimbabwe flag while playing our anthem. Thailand, Syria and Great Britain were also welcomed at the same ceremony.

So far I have seen lots of my Auburn teammates: George (Bovell) was the first, then Eileen (Coparropa) and Dave Durden, Jana (Kolukanova) and Brett Hawke. I can’t wait to see Margaret (Hoelzer), Bryce (Hunt), Mark (Gangloff) and Caesar (Garcia) !!!! I believe they get to the Village today with the French team, so hopefully we’ll get to see Freddy Biscuits and Romy too.

I had this morning off from training and will go down to the competition pool at 5 this afternoon to do some pace work… that means competition is getting close! The competition pool is great! The stands feel like they are right on top of the pool, which will be great energy for when we are racing. There are two warm up pools right next to it, as well as the synchronized swimming/diving and water polo pools. The synchro/diving facility is cool because the stands circle the pool. I hope Caesar likes it!

Well, I am about to get a rub from our Physio, Dorkas. Like I said, they are taking great care of us!

War Eagle!!!
(Diary courtesy Auburn Tigers.com)
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