Zimbabwe at the 2012 Summer Olympics | |
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IOC code | ZIM |
NOC | Zimbabwe Olympic Committee |
Website | www |
in London | |
Competitors | 7 in 4 sports |
Flag bearers | Kirsty Coventry (opening) Cuthbert Nyasango (closing) |
Medals |
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Summer Olympics appearances (overview) | |
Zimbabwe competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, UK from 27 July to 12 August 2012. This was the nation's ninth consecutive appearance at the Olympics, after gaining its independence from the former Rhodesia.
The Zimbabwe Olympic Committee (ZOC) sent the nation's smallest delegation to the Games. A total of seven athletes, four men and three women, competed in four different sports. Swimmer and defending Olympic champion Kirsty Coventry was Zimbabwe's greatest highlight to the Games, and the most successful athlete in Olympic history. She won a total of seven Olympic medals (two gold, four silver, and one bronze) in both backstroke and individual medley events, and broke both an Olympic and a world record. Because of her repeated successes in swimming, Coventry became the nation's first female flag bearer at the opening ceremony. On 11 August 2012, Coventry was elected to the IOC Athletes' Commission, along with three other athletes.[1]
Zimbabwe, however, failed to win a single Olympic medal for the first time since 2000, following Coventry's sixth-place finishes in two of her sporting events. Meanwhile, long-distance runner Cuthbert Nyasango also missed out of the medal standings, after finishing seventh in the men's marathon.