About 2 000 ecstatic Zimbabweans rolled out a red-carpet welcome to swimmer Kirsty Coventry, the country’s first-ever triple Olympic medal winner.
At a reception party held in Coventry’s honour, Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe gave her $50 000 (United States dollars) for her achievement, calling her ”a golden girl, a heroine and an ambassador”.
Coventry won gold, silver and bronze in swimming at the Olympics in Athens and has been hailed at home as a hero and inspiration to this Southern African nation’s 12-million people.
Hundreds of people waved flags or held placards, one of which read: ”Welcome home, our princess of sport”.
”This is awesome!” the 20-year old Coventry said to the crowd through a public-address system after her arrival home from Greece. ”I want to thank you all so much for your support.”
The turnout of fans, mostly black Zimbabweans, temporarily dispelled racial overtones inherent in Zimbabwe today, where whites get bad press in the state media for their perceived support of opponents to Mugabe’s government.
Shortly after her arrival, Coventry addressed a press conference flanked by the chairperson of the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee, Paul Chingoka, and Minister of Education Aeneas Chigwedere, who said the young white woman is an ambassador of the country and will be given a diplomatic passport.
”I am here to welcome back home one of the greatest ambassadors of Zimbabwe,” said Chigwedere.
He said the swimmer would meet the 80-year-old head of state at a reception at his official residence in Harare later on Wednesday.
Coventry, who wore her three medals, said she is proud to have represented her country at the Olympic Games. She said there are still more goals to achieve and she is looking ahead to 2008.
”My race strategies I need to improve on, so I can go faster; I have the medals, but I don’t have the world records yet,” she said.
”Hopefully in the next couple of years to come that’ll be my goal, to get much faster, and compete against the best people in the sport, stay humble and keep loving the sport.”
Coventry won a gold medal for the women’s 200m backstroke, a silver for the 100m backstroke and the 200m individual medley bronze medal.
Her victories have pushed swimming to the forefront of national attention in Zimbabwe after it had long been considered an elitist, and mainly white, sport.
Among the many people who were at the airport to welcome her home were children from Coventry’s former preparatory school, dressed in their red school blazers.
”I just wanted to get a glimpse of her, she really made us proud,” said one man outside the airport terminal as he hoisted his twin daughters alternately on to his shoulders to see above the crowds that pressed around the young swimmer.
Coventry, who leaves the country again on Saturday for the United States, where she is studying at Auburn University, Atlanta, left the airport in a top-of-the-range Mercedes Benz provided for her use while in the country.
Later at a reception party in Coventry’s honour, Mugabe said: ”We thought, ok, let’s give her some pocket money of some $50 000. She did us proud indeed. Well done our golden girl, well done our heroine, well done our ambassador. You are one with us and we are one with you.” — Sapa-AFP