BEIJING, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- "It was my last race and I wanted to give it everything," said Zimbabwe's Kirsty Coventry after winning the women's 200 meters backstroke on Saturday.

　　"It's awesome. It was a painful race and my legs hurt a bit," she said. "Getting the gold medal is the cherry on top."

　　She led all the way Saturday morning, touching in 2 minutes, 5.24 seconds, lowering the mark of 2:06.09 set by Margaret Hoelzer at the U.S. trials last month.

　　"It is such a relief and I am so excited. From the feeling of wanting to throw up, I think I'v done it," she said.

　　Coventry already bagged three silver medals in the previous races. There are seven Olympic medals in Coventry 's personal collection.