section_path: Swimming career/2008 and 2009 seasons
section_name: 2008 and 2009 seasons
paragraph_text: 2008 and 2009 seasons
  
  In 2008, Coventry broke her first world record in the 200 m backstroke at the Missouri Grand Prix. She bettered the mark set by Krisztina Egerszegi in August 1991, the second-oldest swimming world record. Her new record was 2:06:39. Coventry continued her winning streak at the meet by winning the 100 m backstroke and the 200 m IM. Coventry is the third woman in history to break the 1:00 minute barrier in the 100 m backstroke, and the second to break the 59-second barrier.
  
  At the 2008 Manchester Short Course World Championships, Coventry broke her second world record, setting a time, whilst winning the gold medal, of 4:26:52 in the 400 m IM. The following day saw Coventry win her second gold medal of the championships in the 100 m backstroke. Her time of 57:10 was a new championship record and the second-fastest time in history in the event. Only Natalie Coughlin has swum faster (56:51). Day three of the championships saw Coventry break another championship record in qualifying fastest for the final of the 200 m backstroke. Her time of 2:03:69 was a mere four-tenths of a second outside the current world record set by Reiko Nakamura in Tokyo in 2008. Coventry then bettered this time to take her second world record of the championships by winning the final in a time of 2:00:91. She then went on to shatter the short course World Record in winning the 200 m individual medley in 2:06:13.
  
  Coventry represented Zimbabwe at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. Coventry won the silver medal in the 400 metre individual medley event on 10 August 2008, becoming the second woman to swim the medley in less than 4:30, the first being Stephanie Rice who won the gold in the same event. Coventry beat the world record by just under two seconds and was only just beaten by Rice to a new world record. Coventry, in the second semi-final of the 100 m backstroke event, set a new world record of 58.77 seconds. However, in the final of that event she was beaten to the gold medal by Natalie Coughlin. Coventry was again beaten by Stephanie Rice in the 200 m individual medley, despite swimming under the former world record. Coventry did defend her Olympic title in the 200 m backstroke, winning gold in a world record time of 2:05.24. She was the country's flag bearer at the closing ceremony. She was the lone member of the delegation to medal, helping win Zimbabwe's most medals at the Olympics ever.
  
  Awarded US$100,000 by President Mugabe for her success at the Olympics, Coventry gave that money to charity.
  
  At the 2009 World Aquatics Championships in Rome, Italy, Coventry won a gold and a silver. She won the 200 m backstroke world title with a world record time and came second in the 400 m individual medley. She came fourth in the 200 m individual medley final and eighth in the 100 m backstroke final.