100 Olympic Athletes To Watch

83. Kristy Coventry

Swimming
Zimbabwe
Age: 24

Zimbabwe's champion swimmer holds three world records. At the 2004 Olympics, she won a gold, a silver and a bronze. At the 2007 All Africa Games in Tangiers in 2007, she won seven golds and three silvers, and in June, 2008, at the world championships in Manchester she won four golds and one bronze. Coventry trains in the U.S. in Austin, Texas. She's one of the few white Zimbabweans whose appeal crosses the racial divide that splits her country. Paul Chingoka, head of the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee, has called her "our national treasure" while President Robert Mugabe said she was "a golden girl," and on her return from Athens in 2004 presented her with a diplomatic passport and $50,000. She steers clear of Zimbabwe's wretched politics, though. After her wins in Manchester this year, she said change was necessary for her country. "I hope that does happen," she said. "I know that's part of why I'm doing what Ido. I hope it makes a difference and gives people back home hope that things will change for the better. People have to remain positive and believe in those dreams. It's really important."