African Swimmers of The Year
The African award was introduced in 2004, the year in which South Africa won the men's 4 × 100 m freestyle relay at the Olympics. Although Joan Harrison (1952) and Penny Heyns (1996) had won individual gold medals for South Africa, the 2004 victory was the first time that an African relay team won a medal, indicating their increasing depth. In the same Olympics, Zimbabwe's Kirsty Coventry's won three medals, including one gold, making her the first African swimmer outside of South Africa to stand on the podium. Coventry has won the female award six times. South African sprinter Roland Schoeman won four consecutive male awards from 2004 to 2007, and in total South African swimmers have claimed ten awards. In 2008, Ous Mellouli of Tunisia broke the South African and Zimbabwean duopoly after becoming the first African male to win an individual Olympic gold medal.
| Year | Female Winner | Nationality | Male Winner | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Coventry, KirstyKirsty Coventry | Zimbabwe | Schoeman, RolandRoland Schoeman | South Africa |
| 2005 | Coventry, KirstyKirsty Coventry | Zimbabwe | Schoeman, RolandRoland Schoeman | South Africa |
| 2006 | van Biljon, SuzaanSuzaan van Biljon | South Africa | Schoeman, RolandRoland Schoeman | South Africa |
| 2007 | Coventry, KirstyKirsty Coventry | Zimbabwe | Schoeman, RolandRoland Schoeman | South Africa |
| 2008 | Coventry, KirstyKirsty Coventry | Zimbabwe | Mellouli, OussamaOussama Mellouli | Tunisia |
| 2009 | Coventry, KirstyKirsty Coventry | Zimbabwe | Mellouli, OussamaOussama Mellouli van der Burgh, CameronCameron van der Burgh |
Tunisia South Africa |
| 2010 | Loots, MandyMandy Loots | South Africa | van der Burgh, CameronCameron van der Burgh | South Africa |
| 2011 | Coventry, KirstyKirsty Coventry | Zimbabwe | van der Burgh, CameronCameron van der Burgh | South Africa |
| 2012 | Coventry, KirstyKirsty Coventry | Zimbabwe | le Clos, ChadChad le Clos | South Africa |
Read more about this topic: Swimming World Swimmers Of The Year
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