The Kingdom at Victoria Falls was proud to host renowned athlete and world record holder Kirsty Coventry on her recent trip to Zimbabwe. Not only is she a twice crowned Olympic champion, and winner of seven Olympic medals, but has also won more individual Olympic medals than any female swimmer in history.

“I surrounded myself with positive people who believed in me and shared the same vision as me. I had Coach Charles Mathieson in Zimbabwe then Coach Kim Brackin in the US, I had less than a handful of friends in Zimbabwe (Jussy, Christo and Lauren) then had a swim team of friends at Auburn University. I missed out on so many 'fun nights out' and birthday parties, I missed friends’ weddings, I missed coming home and spending time with family, but these were just a few of the sacrifices I had to make to keep me on my path to becoming Olympic Champion.”

In 2015 Kirsty launched a pilot project which provides swimming lessons and water-safety messages to the youth in Zimbabwe as well as the HEROES program, in 2017, which provides free sports activities to kids in the community. These projects use sport as a way to address issues such as teen pregnancies, child marriages, drug and alcohol abuse, and gender-based violence.

Her incredible journey continues to inspire many young athletes around the world and it was an honor to host her. We look forward to her next visit!