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Natalie Coughlin Biography & Facts

Natalie Anne Coughlin Hall (born August 23, 1982) is an American former competition swimmer and twelve-time Olympic medalist. While attending the University of California, Berkeley, she became the first woman ever to swim the 100-meter backstroke (long course) in less than one minute—ten days before her 20th birthday in 2002. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, she became the first U.S. female athlete in modern Olympic history to win six medals in one Olympiad, and the first woman ever to win a 100-meter backstroke gold in two consecutive Olympics. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, she earned a bronze medal in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay. Coughlin's success has earned her the World Swimmer of the Year Award once and American Swimmer of the Year Award three times. She has won a total of sixty medals in major international competition, twenty-five gold, twenty-two silver, and thirteen bronze spanning the Olympics, the World, the Pan Pacific Championships, and the Pan American Games. Early years Coughlin was born in Vallejo, California, the daughter of Jim and Zennie Coughlin. She is of Irish and one quarter Filipino ancestry. Coughlin first began swimming at Vallejo Aquatics Club when she was 8 years old, where she was coached by Tuffy Williams. She attended St. Catherine of Siena School in Vallejo, for kindergarten through eighth grade, and then Carondelet High School in Concord, California. While in high school in 1998, she became the first swimmer to qualify for the Summer National in all fourteen events. Coughlin broke two individual national high school records in the 200-yard individual medley (1:58.45) and the 100-yard backstroke (52.86). She graduated from Carondelet High School in 2000. College career Coughlin attended the University of California, Berkeley, where she swam for coach Teri McKeever's California Golden Bears swimming and diving team in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competition from 2001 to 2003. During her three years as a Cal Bears swimmer, she won eleven individual NCAA national championships, and a twelfth NCAA relay title. She was recognized as the NCAA Swimmer of the Year for three consecutive years, and she was a two-time recipient of the Honda Sports Award for Swimming and Diving, recognizing her as the outstanding college female swimmer in 2001–02 and 2002–03. Sports Illustrated magazine named her its college Female Athlete of the Year. Coughlin was inducted into the Cal Athletic Hall of Fame in 2014. Coughlin graduated from Berkeley with a degree in psychology in the spring of 2005. International career 2001–2003 At the ninth World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, Coughlin won three medals—one gold, one silver, and one bronze. She won her gold medal in the 100-meter backstroke with Diana Mocanu (Romania) taking the silver and Antje Buschschulte (Germany) taking the bronze. Coughlin won her silver medal in the women's 4×100-meter medley relay, teaming up with Megan Quann, Mary Descenza, and Erin Phenix; the Australians won the gold (Calub, Jones, Thomas, Ryan). Coughlin won her bronze medal in the 50-meter backstroke; fellow American Haley Cope won gold and Antje Buschschulte won the silver. At the ninth Pan Pacific Championships in Yokohama, Japan, Coughlin won six medals—four golds and two silvers. Coughlin won one of her gold medals in the women's 100-meter backstroke with a time of 59.72, and another in the women's 100-meter butterfly with a time of 57.88. Coughlin won her third gold medal in the women's 100-meter freestyle with a time of 53.99. She won her fourth gold medal in the women's 4×200-meter freestyle relay with Elizabeth Hill, Diana Munz, and Lindsay Benko. She won her silver medals as a member of the second-place U.S. relay teams in the 4×100-meter freestyle and 4×100-meter medley events. At the tenth World Aquatics Championships in Barcelona, Spain, Coughlin won two medals, including a gold and a silver. Coughlin won her gold medal in the women's 4×100-meter freestyle relay and a silver medal in the 4×100-medley relay. 2004 Athens Summer Olympics Coughlin won the gold medal at the 2004 Olympics in the women's 100-meter backstroke event and won a silver medal as a member of the U.S. women's 4×100-meter freestyle relay team with Kara Lynn Joyce, Amanda Weir and Jenny Thompson. She also broke a world record and won gold as a member of the 4×200-meter freestyle relay, a silver in the 4×100-meter medley relay, and a bronze in the 100-meter freestyle. 2005–2006 At the eleventh World Aquatics Championships in Montreal, Quebec, Coughlin won five medals, including a gold and 2 silvers and 2 bronzes. Coughlin won a gold medal in the women's 200 m freestyle relay and silver medals in the 100 meter medley relay and the 100 m freestyle. She also won bronze medals in the 100 m backstroke and the 100m freestyle relay. Coughlin worked as an in-studio host for MSNBC during the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. 2007 World Aquatics Championships At the 2007 World Aquatics Championships, Coughlin won five medals: two gold, two silver, and one bronze. In her first event, the 4×100-meter freestyle relay, Coughlin won a silver medal along with Lacey Nymeyer, Amanda Weir, and Kara Lynn Joyce. The following day, in the 100-meter butterfly, she placed third in the final with a time of 57.34, an American record. In the 100-meter backstroke final, held the following day, she broke her own world record set in 2002 with a time of 59.44. After a day of rest, Coughlin was back in the pool to swim the lead-off leg in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay. Swimming in lane eight, Coughlin set the American record with a time of 1:56.43, to break Katie Hoff's one-day-old record of 1:57.09. Dana Vollmer, Lacey Nymeyer, and Katie Hoff each extended the lead and the final time of 7:50.09 was a world record. The following day, Coughlin finished in 4th place in the 100-meter freestyle despite setting the championship record in the semi-finals. In her last event, the 4×100-meter medley relay, Coughlin won a silver medal along with Tara Kirk, Rachel Komisarz, and Lacey Nymeyer. 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics In Coughlin's second Olympics appearance, at Beijing in 2008, she became the first American female athlete to win six medals in one Olympics. She was elected joint captain of the US women's swimming team together with five-time Olympian Dara Torres and four-time Olympian Amanda Beard. Coughlin won the gold medal in the 100-meter backstroke at those Olympiads, the inaugural woman to successfully defend a gold medal standing in that event. her world records was surpassed in the semi-final by Kirsty Coventry, would take the silver. Standing on the medal platform, her lip was still bleeding having bitten it during the race to distract her from the pain in her legs. She won a silver medal in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay, swimming with Lacey Nymeyer, Kara Lynn Joyce and Dara Torres, and also won bronze medals in the 200-meter indivi.... Discover the Natalie Coughlin popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Natalie Coughlin books.