World champion Coventry, who is representing the country at the ongoing All Africa Games in Mozambique, said she would use the small country as her base following an invitation by the French Princess Charlene.
The Bulawayo-born princess (full name Charlene Lynette Wittstock), the wife of Albert II, Prince of Monaco, is former South African Olympic swimmer.
“Thanks to the patronage of Princess Charlene from mid September, I will be training in Monaco until the Olympics,” Coventry said in a statement.
She said Monaco, the world’s second smallest country after Vatican city, was a perfect base as there would be no distractions.
Monaco has an area is 1.98 km2 with a population of 35 986 as of 2011. It boasts the world's highest Gross Domestic Product nominal per capita at US$151 630 and is the most densely populated country in the world. The country has the world's highest life expectancy at almost 90 years, and the lowest unemployment rate.
Swimming sensation Coventry has arguably been the country’s most successful athlete since the turn of the millennium. She first shot to prominence at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, where she won three medals: gold, silver, and a bronze. Four years later, in the same competition in Beijing, China, she won a further four medals; one gold and three silver.
She was described as a Zimbabwean ‘national treasure,’ earning US$100 000 and a privileged document in the form of a diplomatic passport from the Zimbabwean government.
Post published in: Sport