HARARE - Zimbabwe's swimming sensation Kirsty Coventry’s fiancé, Tyron Seward, has announced he will pay lobola this month before proceeding with wedding plans in the last quarter of next year.

The two lovebirds revealed they have settled for a traditional marriage ceremony in an interview with the Daily News on Wednesday.

“We have decided to put the wedding towards the end of the year, probably in August or September. We need to give friends and family from outside the country enough time to prepare,” said Seward, a 31-year-old from Chinhoyi.

“As of the lobola it will be sorted before New Year.”

The two got engaged during the London Olympic Games in August.

Coventry, who turned 29 recently, has been dating Seward for three years.

The couple, who met in Johannesburg through mutual friends, have been travelling together around the world for the past two years with Seward acting as Coventry’s manager.

“I am very comfortable with our relationship. She inspires many people around the world. I was into Safaris then mining but stopped to support her. We work as a partnership,” said Seward.

Kirsty and Tyrone, however, are not planning to have kids soon.

“She definitely loves kids and we will probably have two or three, but she has not decided whether she should quit or continue swimming,” said Tyrone.

The couple is currently based in Harare, but on their future plans, Tyrone said: “We are setting a couple of businesses around sport development, their viability will determine where we stay.”

The two will enter into matrimony from scratch as all the money earned by Coventry was reinvested into the former Olympic champion and world record holder’s training and competition, the fiancé revealed. - Wendy Muperi