Zimbabwe at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Zimbabwe at the 2008 Summer Olympics
IOC code	ZIM
NOC	Zimbabwe Olympic Committee
Website	www.zoc.co.zw
in Beijing
Competitors	13 in 6 sports
Flag bearers	Brian Dzingai (opening) Kirsty Coventry (closing)
Medals Ranked 38th	Gold 1 Silver 3 Bronze 0 Total 4
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)
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Zimbabwe sent a team to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.

Zimbabwe sent thirteen athletes to Beijing, competing in swimming, athletics, tennis, cycling, triathlon, and rowing.^[1] Kirsty Coventry, who won gold in swimming at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, was the lone member of the delegation to 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

Seven Zimbabweans competed in athletics, with the best finishes being a pair of fourth-places. One came from Brian Dzingai, in the men's 200 metres. Dzingai was the top qualifier in the heats and semifinals, but in the final, he originally placed 6th, before two disqualifications moved him up to 4th. The other came from Ngonidzashe Makusha in the men's long jump. Makusha qualified in 5th, and sat in 2nd place after the first three jumps. He was passed by one opponent on the fourth attempt, and then lost a medal by a single centimetre on the last round of jumps.

Men

Track & road events

Athlete	Event	Heat		Quarterfinal		Semifinal		Final
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Lewis Banda	400 m	46.76	6	—		Did not advance
Brian Dzingai	200 m	20.25	1 Q	20.23	1 Q	20.17	2 Q	20.22	4
Mike Fokoroni	Marathon	—						2:13:17	11
Cuthbert Nyasango	10000 m	—						DNF
Young Talkmore Nyongani	400 m	45.89	6	—		Did not advance

Field events

Athlete	Event	Qualification		Final
		Distance	Position	Distance	Position
Ngonidzashe Makusha	Long jump	8.14	5 Q	8.19	4

Women

Track & road events

Athlete	Event	Final
		Result	Rank
Tabitha Tsatsa	Marathon	2:37:10	49

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

Antipas Kwari represented Zimbabwe in cycling, and was the last finisher in the men's mountain bike race, a full lap behind the next-to-last finisher.

Athlete	Event	Time	Rank
Antipas Kwari	Men's cross-country	LAP (6 laps)	48

Elana Hill managed to qualify from her opening heat, but finished last in her quarterfinal and her semifinal, ending up in 25th.

Women

Athlete	Event	Heats		Quarterfinals		Semifinals		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Elana Hill	Single sculls	8:35:53	3 QF	8:20:84	6 SC/D	8:34:27	6 FE	8:09:94	25

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

Kirsty Coventry managed to improve on her three-medal performance from Athens, repeating her gold medal in the 200-metre backstroke and her silver in the 100-metre backstroke, and adding silver medals in the 200-metre and 400-metre individual medleys. She also set a world record in her 100 backstroke semifinal, which was not broken in the final, and won the 200 backstroke with another world record. Her team-mate Heather Brand did not advance from the heats.

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	—		4:29.89 AF

Cara Black, representing Zimbabwe for the third time in Olympic tennis, lost her only match in straight sets.

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

Chris Felgate ran the triathlon for Zimbabwe. He finished the swim with the main pack, but fell behind in the cycling and running portions.

Athlete	Event	Swim (1.5 km)	Trans 1	Bike (40 km)	Trans 2	Run (10 km)	Total Time	Rank
Chris Felgate	Men's	18:21	0:28	59:00	0:33	36:09	1:54:31.61	42

• Official 2008 Summer Olympics Results Website