Zimbabwe at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Zimbabwe sent athletes to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. Thirteen athletes took part in sports like swimming, athletics, tennis, cycling, triathlon, and rowing.

A special achievement came from Kirsty Coventry. She had won a gold medal in swimming at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. At the 2008 Games, she was the only athlete from Zimbabwe to win a medal, making her a proud representative of her country.

Medalists

Zimbabwe sent thirteen athletes to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. They took part in swimming, athletics, tennis, cycling, triathlon, and rowing. Kirsty Coventry, who won a gold medal in swimming at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, was the only athlete from Zimbabwe to win a medal.

Medal	Name	Sport	Event	Date
Gold	Kirsty Coventry	Swimming	Women's 200 m backstroke	16 August
Silver			Women's 400 m individual medley	10 August
Silver			Women's 100 m backstroke	12 August
Silver			Women's 200 m individual medley	13 August

Athletics

Main article: Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Seven athletes from Zimbabwe competed in athletics. The best results were two fourth-place finishes. Brian Dzingai came fourth in the men's 200 metres. He did well in the early rounds but finished fourth in the final. Ngonidzashe Makusha also came fourth in the men's long jump. He was close to winning a medal but missed it by a small margin.

Men

Track & road events

Field events

Women

Track & road events

Key

• Note–Ranks given for track events are within the athlete's heat only
• Q = Qualified for the next round
• q = Qualified for the next round as a fastest loser or, in field events, by position without achieving the qualifying target
• NR = National record
• N/A = Round not applicable for the event
• Bye = Athlete not required to compete in round

Cycling

Main article: Cycling at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Mountain biking

Antipas Kwari from Zimbabwe competed in cycling at the 2008 Summer Olympics. He finished the men's mountain bike race, but he was one lap behind the person who came before him.

Rowing

Main article: Rowing at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Elana Hill competed in her first race and moved on, but she finished last in the next two races. She ended up in 25th place.

Women

Qualification Legend: FA=Final A (medal); FB=Final B (non-medal); FC=Final C (non-medal); FD=Final D (non-medal); FE=Final E (non-medal); FF=Final F (non-medal); SA/B=Semifinals A/B; SC/D=Semifinals C/D; SE/F=Semifinals E/F; QF=Quarterfinals; R=Repechage

Swimming

Main article: Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Kirsty Coventry did very well in swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics. She won a gold medal and three silver medals. Her teammate Heather Brand did not advance far in the races.

Women

Athlete	Event	Heat		Semifinal		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Heather Brand	100 m butterfly	1:01.39	42	Did not advance
Kirsty Coventry	100 m backstroke	59.00 OR	1 Q	58.77 WR	1 Q	59.19
	200 m backstroke	2:06.76 OR	1 Q	2:07.76	1 Q	2:05.24 WR
	200 m individual medley	2:12.18	3 Q	2:09.53 OR	1 Q	2:08.59 AF
	400 m individual medley	4:36:43	7 Q	—N/a		4:29.89 AF

Tennis

Main article: Tennis at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Cara Black played tennis for Zimbabwe at the 2008 Summer Olympics. This was her third time playing. She lost her only match.

Athlete	Event	Round of 64	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Final / BM
		Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Opposition Score	Rank
Cara Black	Women's singles	Janković (SRB) L 3–6, 3–6	Did not advance

Triathlon

Main article: Triathlon at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Chris Felgate represented Zimbabwe in the triathlon. He swam with the other athletes but fell behind during the cycling and running parts.