Natalie is strong in freestyle, backstroke, and IM.
Stats:
- CLUB: California Aquatics (CAL-CA)
- DOB: Aug 23, 1982
- HEIGHT: 5' 8" (172.7 cm)
- HOMETOWN: Lafayette, Calif.
- RESIDENCE: Lafayette, Calif.
- BIRTHPLACE: Vallejo Calif.
- COACHED BY: Teri McKeever
Personal Notes:
- High School: Carondelet HS '00
- College: Cal-Berkeley '05
- College Major: Psychology
- Future Professional Aspirations: Broadcasting; was an Olympic analyst for MSNBC during the 2006 Winter Olympic Games
- Parents: James and Zennie; father is a police officer, and mother is a Kaiser paralegal
- Sibling(s): Younger sister (Megan) attended UC Davis and was a swimmer
- Started Swimming: Age 6
- Sports Played Before Swimming: Gymnastics, volleyball
- Nickname(s): Nat
- Pet(s): Two dogs (Shera and Jake); Shera is a Border Terrier, and Jake is a Boxer
- Hobbies Outside the Pool: Cooking; appeared with Al Roker on The Today Show to cook up a pork and persimmon risotto dish (Dec. 2002); also loves surfing and photography
- Ultimate Way to Relax: Enjoying good food and wine
- Charities: Women's Sports Foundation and Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids “Kick Butts Day”
- Sponsor(s): Speedo, American Eggboard, Sprint PCS
- Wrote a book with Sports Illustrated’s Michael Silver entitled, "Golden Girl: How Natalie Coughlin Fought Back, Challenged Conventional Wisdom, and Became America's Olympic Champion" released in April 2006
- Attributes some of her recent success to her dry land training program, which includes pilates and dance classes
- recently had her photographs featured in SPLASH Magazine
- favorite place to be when she isn’t training or competing is in Kauai, Hawaii
- first job was working at the Snack Shack at her local pool
- when she was little, wanted to be Whitney Houston
- greatest obstacle she's overcome is a shoulder injury and "burnout"
- Favorites:
- U.S. city: San Francisco
- int'l destination: Sydney
- band: Counting Crows
- summer activity: surfing
- movie: Dogma
- tv: Lost, Nip/Tuck, Heroes