37 Facts About Natalie Coughlin

Natalie Anne Coughlin Hall was born on August 23,1982 and is an American former competition swimmer and twelve-time Olympic medalist.

Natalie Coughlin 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.

Natalie Coughlin was born in Vallejo, California, the daughter of Jim and Zennie Natalie Coughlin.

Natalie Coughlin is of Irish and one quarter Filipino ancestry.

Natalie Coughlin first began swimming at Vallejo Aquatics Club when she was 8 years old, where she was coached by Tuffy Williams.

Natalie Coughlin attended St Catherine of Siena School in Vallejo, for kindergarten through eighth grade, and then Carondelet High School in Concord, California.

Natalie Coughlin broke two individual national high school records in the 200-yard individual medley and the 100-yard backstroke.

Natalie 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 competition from 2001 to 2004.

Natalie Coughlin was inducted into the Cal Athletic Hall of Fame in 2014.

Natalie Coughlin graduated from Berkeley with a degree in psychology in the spring of 2005.

Natalie Coughlin won her gold medal in the 100-meter backstroke with Diana Mocanu taking the silver and Antje Buschschulte taking the bronze.

Natalie Coughlin won her bronze medal in the 50-meter backstroke; fellow American Haley Cope won gold and Antje Buschschulte won the silver.

Natalie 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.

Natalie Coughlin won her third gold medal in the women's 100-meter freestyle with a time of 53.99.

At the tenth World Aquatics Championships in Barcelona, Spain, Natalie Coughlin won two medals, including a gold and a silver.

At the eleventh World Aquatics Championships in Montreal, Quebec, Natalie Coughlin won five medals, including a gold and 2 silvers and 2 bronzes.

Natalie 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.

Natalie Coughlin won bronze medals in the 100 m backstroke and the 100m freestyle relay.

Natalie Coughlin worked as an in-studio host for MSNBC during the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy.

At the 2007 World Aquatics Championships, Natalie Coughlin won five medals: two gold, two silver, and one bronze.

Swimming in lane eight, Natalie 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.

Natalie Coughlin was elected joint captain of the US women's swimming team together with five-time Olympian Dara Torres and four-time Olympian Amanda Beard.

Natalie 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.

Natalie Coughlin won a bronze medal in the women's 100-meter backstroke, her only individual medal at these championships, with a 59.15.

Natalie Coughlin led for the entire race, when in the last couple meters, Zhao Jing and Anastasia Zueva edged her out.

At the 2012 United States Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska, the US qualifying event for the Olympics, the 29-year-old veteran Natalie Coughlin found herself in competition with a younger generation of American swimmers.

At the 2013 Phillips 66 National Championships, which served as the selection meet for the World Championships, Natalie Coughlin decided to only take up the sprint freestyles and swam the 50 and 100-meter freestyle events.

Natalie Coughlin finished first in the 50-meter freestyle with a 24.97, just ahead of 16-year-old Simone Manuel, who swam a 25.01.

Natalie Coughlin went second for team USA and swam her leg in 52.98 seconds; she was one of 6 women in the field of 32 to break the 53-second barrier.

Natalie Coughlin has appeared as a judge on Iron Chef America.

Natalie Coughlin appeared on Food Network's Chopped Sport Stars episode that first aired on September 3,2013.

Natalie Coughlin competed in season 9 of Dancing with the Stars with season 1 professional champion, Alec Mazo.

In 2013, Natalie Coughlin appeared in Chopped where she lost in the final round to Danica Patrick.

Also in 2015, Natalie Coughlin became a brand ambassador and investor in a frozen food company, Luvo Inc.

In 2021, Natalie Coughlin was inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame.

In 2023, Natalie Coughlin was elected vice-chair and chair-elect for the board of directors of USA Swimming.

Natalie Coughlin will be vice-chair until 2025 and then serve a four-year term as board chair until 2029.