Photo: Fuzheado / CC BY-SA 4.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
What grabs me about Natalie Coughlin is the sheer historic weight of being the first woman under a minute in the 100m backstroke. Records like that aren't just numbers; they redraw the line of what a body can do. Twelve Olympic medals out of Berkeley speaks to brains as much as engine, because longevity at that level demands ruthless self-management. I admire athletes who keep showing up to the water year after year rather than flaming out young. To me she reads as a quiet technician of consistency, and that earns far more respect than raw flash ever could in my book.
Overview
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. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, she became the first U.S.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Natalie Coughlin
- Name (Japanese)
- ナタリー・コーグリン
- Reading
- なたりー・こーぐりん
- Born
- August 23, 1982 (age 43)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Virgo / Dog
- Origin
- Vallejo, California, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- 173 cm
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- swimmer
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Carondelet High School
- University
- University of California, Berkeley
Awards & achievements
- 2003 Honda Sports Award for Swimming & Diving
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Swimmer — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.