Zimbabwean swimmer Kirsty Coventry, one of her country’s most accomplished athletes in any sport, will wrap up a busy two weeks at the 2016 Summer Olympics with one more job on Sunday evening: carrying Zimbabwe’s flag at the closing ceremonies in the Maracanã Stadium, where the Games will officially be extinguished and attentions will roll forward to Tokyo.
Coventry is the owner of 7 Olympic medals in her career, including back-to-back golds in the 200 backstroke in 2004 and 2008. Her 7 medals are more than any other African has won in any sport; and she ties with Krisztina Egerszegi for the most individual Olympics medals by any female swimmer in history.
Coventry’s highlight of the Olympics was a 6th-place finish in the 200 back final, which wasn’t enough to break her tie with Egerszegi, but at 32 was still very much a moral victory. She also placed 11th in the 100 back.
The honor to carry the flag at the closing ceremonies for Coventry will match the one she was given at the opening ceremonies 17 days ago.
While Zimbabwe didn’t win a medal, Coventry’s was the highest finish among the 31 athletes competing in 7 sports (made up primarily of the women’s soccer team, who was winless and didn’t advance from group play), and her face was ever-present at the Olympics.
As a member of the IOC athletes’ commission, she was given the opportunity to award medals multiple times throughout the week. As noted by SwimSwam’s Lauren Neidigh, she handed out medals for the men’s 400 medley relay on the last day of swimming in an awkward pairing with Russian Swimming Federation head Vladimir Salnikov.
Also on Sunday, she awarded Spain their bronze medals in men’s basketball – one of the highest-visibility awards and award ceremonies at the Olympics globally.
Coventry has still not said the word ‘retirement’ in any official capacity, but did leave this message on her Facebook and Instagram accounts this week saying that she “feel(s) a great Peace leaving the ‘competing world.’
If this, her 5th Olympics, do wind up being her final Olympics, she will have made among the most indelible marks on them even without winning a medal, giving continued hope and visibility for the possibilities of peace and participation in the global stage for a country divided by political strife that honors Coventry as their “golden girl.”
The closing ceremonies will begin at 8:15 PM local Rio time on Sunday, which is 7:15 U.S. East Coast Time and 1:15 AM on Monday morning in Zimbabwe.
Well done Kirsty. You are a superstar from a super country!
A great ambassador for swimming (& even better swim camp counselor!)