Olympic Swimmer Kirsty Coventry Get Cash Reward

President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe gave a $100,000 dollar reward to Zimbabwe's top Olympic swimmer Kirsty Coventry, who won all of Zimbabwe's four medals at the Beijing games and taking her country to 38th in the medal table.

She was given the money, worth £54,890, in a suitcase by the governor of the central bank. In a ceremony carried live on state television, Mr Mugabe called the swimmer "a daughter of Zimbabwe" and a "golden girl".

She smashed the world record to win gold in the women's 200 metres backstroke.

Who Is Kirsty Coventry
Kirsty Leigh Coventry was born on September 16, 1983 in Harare, Zimbabwe, Coventry is a Zimbabwean swimmer and world record holder. She attended and swam competitively for Auburn University in Alabama, in the United States. At the 2004 Summer Olympics, in Athens, Greece, Coventry won three Olympic medals: a gold, a silver, and a bronze and in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing she won four medals: a gold and three silver. She was subsequently described by Paul Chingoka, head of the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee, as "our national treasure". Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has called her "a golden girl," and awarded her US$100,000 in cash for her 2008 Summer Olympic Games performance.

Coventry attended Dominican Convent High School in Zimbabwe. In 2000, while still in high school, Coventry became the first Zimbabwean swimmer to reach the semifinals at the Olympics and was named Zimbabwe's Sports Woman of the Year.

As a student at Auburn University, Coventry helped lead the Tigers to NCAA Championships in 2003 and 2004. In 2005, she was the top individual scorer at the NCAA Championships and captured three individual titles including the 200 m and 400 m individual medley (IM), and the 200 m backstroke for the second consecutive season. She was named the College Swimming Coaches Association Swimmer of the Meet for her efforts. Other awards include 2005 SEC Swimmer of the Year, the 2004-2005 SEC Female Athlete of the Year, and the 2005 Honda Award Winner for Swimming.

Medals
2002 Commonwealth Games medals
* Gold in the 200 m IM (2:14.53)

2004 Olympic medals
* Bronze in the 200 m IM (2:12.72) - Zimbabwe's second Olympic medal
* Gold in the 200 m backstroke (2:09.19)
* Silver in the 100 m backstroke (1:00.50)

2005 World Championship medals
* Gold in the 100 m backstroke (1:00.24)
* Gold in the 200 m backstroke (2:08.52)
* Silver in the 200 m IM (2:11.13)
* Silver in the 400 m IM (4:39.72)

2007 All-Africa Games
* Gold in the 200 m IM (2:13.02 CR)
* Gold in the 400 m IM (4:39.91 CR)
* Gold in the 50 m freestyle (26.19)
* Gold in the 800 m freestyle (8:43.89 CR)
* Gold in the 50 m backstroke (28.89 AR)
* Gold in the 100 m backstroke (1:01.28 CR)
* Gold in the 200 m backstroke (2:10.66 CR)
* Silver in the 100 m breaststroke (1:11.86)
* Silver in the 4x100 m medley (4:21.60 NR)
* Silver in the 4x200 m freestyle (8:38.20 NR)

2007 World Championship medals
* Silver in the 200 m backstroke (2:07.54)
* Silver in the 200 m IM (2:10.74)

2008 Olympic Medals
* Silver in the 400 m IM (4:29.89 AR)
* Silver in the 100 m Backstroke (59.19)
* Silver in the 200 m IM (2:08.59 AR)
* Gold in the 200 m Backstroke (2:05.24) WR

FYI - 2008 Beijing Olympic Sports