Zimbabwean 7-time Olympic medalist Kirsty Coventry announced late in January that she would be returning to the United States to train with her former coach at Auburn Kim Brackin. Brackin is currently the head women’s coach at the University of Texas in Austin.
Coventry arrived stateside on February 8th, and wasted no time getting to work. Within a week of arriving, she said that “training is hurting” and that “it’s definitely gone from the basement to the penthouse” in referring to the change from her previous training spot in Monaco. She’s spent some time working with the Texas women’s team as well, but it seems as though she’s revamped her training.
This can only be good news for her to get back to the training that brought her so much success in the last decade. Like many older swimmers, it seems as though she tried to back off a bit (and rely on experience and a strong base), but she didn’t have huge success with that at last year’s World Championships. Now she will hope that Brackin can take her back to glory in London.
Coventry has found a hotel in Austin where she plans to stay through the Olympics. This weekend, while Brackin is in Missouri for the Big 12 Championships, Coventry is visiting family in Thomasville, Georgia and training at the local YMCA.