Buffalo Boy's Blog

Natalie Coughlin is perhaps one of the most prolific and well known of the US women swimmers. This coming trials and summer games will be her 2nd trip to the games, assuming she makes it and there is nothing suggesting she will not.

She holds 5 medals from the 2004 games in Athens and for the California Aquatic swimmer this Olympics should prove just as successful. She will be 26 by the time they are over so it is likely her last.

Her accomplishments are as follows:

She is only the third American woman to win 5 medals in one Olympics

She holds world records in the 100 meter backstroke set at the 2008 Missouri Grand Prix, the 800 meter freestyle relay set at the 2007 World Championships, the 100 meter IM (short course: the difference between long course and short course is that short course is swum in a 25 meter pool and long course is swum in a 50 meter pool), and the 100 meter backstroke (SCM).

Her top events include:

50 meter freestyle: :24.92 seconds set in May of 2008

100 meter freestyle: :53.39 seconds set in May of 2008

200 meter freestyle: 1:56.43 set in March of 2007

100 meter backstroke: :59.21 set in February of 2008 (she is also the first woman to break a minute in the 100 meter backstroke)

100 meter fly: :57.34 set in March of 2007

In addition to times and records, Natalie was the 1998 Swimming World Magazine High School Swimmer of the Year, three time NCAA swimmer of the year 2001-2003, 2004 Sports Illustrated On Campus Female Athlete of the Year, a three time finalist for Sullivan Award as the nations top amateur athlete in 2001, 2002 and 2005, 2003 Sports Foundation Sportswoman of the Year, and 2002 USA Swimming Athlete of the Year amongst others.  

Look for more of the same heading up to and at these games and she should qualify in all those events plus relays for the games. She has been swimming strong through May and tapered fairly well leading up to the time trials next week.

This is one of her 2007 swims in which she broke her own world record in the 100 meter backstroke in a time of :59.44: