Universal Sports Interviews Natalie Coughlin

By Jason Devaney, Universal Sports

BETHESDA, Maryland, November 17. U.S. Olympic swimmer Natalie Coughlin, who won six medals – including a gold – in Beijing, recently sat down with Universal Sports for an exclusive interview before she took part in a cooking demonstration at a Wegman's supermarket in Northern Virginia.

She touched on everything from her Olympic experience in China to her workout routine and eating habits. When will she return to competitive swimming? Check out her response below.

Q: Talk about the Olympics and the whole experience in Beijing.
It seems like a lifetime ago, but it was overwhelming. As much as I enjoyed I'm glad it's behind me. It was a very, very long nine days of competition for me and everybody else. It was intense. Overwhelming is the only way to describe it really.

Q: Was there a lot of pressure in Beijing?
Obviously there is pressure because it's the Olympics, so that's kind of a given. I've been competing for over 20 years, so I've gotten used to dealing with pressure in competition, but it's the Olympics so it's a much bigger stage.

Q: The backstroke is your strongest event. Is it more important to have a good kick or a strong arm motion?
It's different for everybody. For me, the kick is very important. I have much more of a leg-driven stroke than I do an arm-driven stroke, and that's why I have such a slow turn. But it's different for everybody.

Q: What was it like seeing Michael Phelps make history?
I was competing almost every day. I got to see a lot of his races but mostly from the warm-up or warm-down pool because I was trying to get ready for my own races.

Q: What does it feel like standing on the medal podium, hearing the National Anthem being played with a gold medal around your neck?
Well fortunately, between the past two Olympics, I've won three and each one is very very different. In Beijing, the only way to describe it is it's just really emotional and overwhelming. You're very, very happy but you're also relieved. It's almost indescribable.

Q: What has been the key to your success in the pool?
That's hard to say because I have no idea what other people do. I just know that for me, it's important to be consistent in practice and it's important to get a lot of racing experience. Last year I traveled around doing the World Cup circuit. It was very important for me to get lots and lots of racing experience last year.

I think [the World Cup] helped a lot because there aren't that many opportunities for a post-collegiate swimmer in the U.S. I had sought out competitions and I think that really helped, especially in the fall period.

Q: How much does the Speedo LZR Racer really help, and does it provide an unfair advantage?
To say it's an unfair advantage is ridiculous because everyone was wearing them. The LZR is a great suit. Speedo is an amazing company; I've worn Speedo for my entire career. It's a fantastic suit, but the people in the suits were the ones breaking world records, not the suit.

Q: As far as your diet, what types of food do you eat daily?
I eat really healthy. This is an amazing store and I wish we had one where I live. I try to cook fresh ingredients every day — lots and lots of fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, whole grains, things like that. I try to lead a balanced life so that if I want a certain thing I don't deprive myself, but I try to eat healthy most of the time.

Q: Do you almost pride yourself on eating healthy?
It's kind of my mentality. I don't take supplements, I don't do any of that, and the only way to get all the nutritional things that you need — vitamins and minerals — is to eat a variety of fruits and vegetables. Being a professional athlete, it's very important to fuel myself with quality fuels, rather than crap.

Q: You are into cooking. When did you start to cook?
Although I cooked a little bit in high school, I didn't start seriously cooking until after my freshman year in college.

Q: Describe a typical day's meals … what you eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Do you ever snack?
I snack on nuts, fruits, veggies and olives. I usually have some cereal or oatmeal in the morning. Kashi tends to be my favorite. For lunch I'll have a large salad and some sort of wrap. I love spinach tortilla, turkey, cream cheese, hot sauce and red peppers. Dinner's always different but it often includes lots of veggies, whole grains and lean proteins.

Q: Was it difficult to eat healthy in Beijing?
Considering that they're feeding thousands of people, [the food] was pretty good. It is cafeteria food in many ways, but at that point it doesn't really matter. It's about getting the calories you need for the 10 days or nine days I had to be there.

Q: Do you watch cooking shows and do you have a favorite chef?
I love watching cooking shows. My favorite chefs are Alice Waters, Giada de Laurentis and Tyler Florence because their cooking styles are similar to my own — or so I like to think! Also, Alton Brown is the best teacher of all the celebrity chefs.

Q: Talk about your workout sessions and routines.
Going into the Olympics, I work out six days a week and I take off from swimming Wednesdays and Sundays. I do a lot of running, I do pilates a lot and I lift weights. I have a mixture of cross training as well as swimming.

Lately all I've been doing is running — I really haven't been swimming all that much. It always changes and they're very different. I like having the variety because it keeps things fresh and it keeps things interesting, and it keeps me motivated so I am not doing the same thing every single day. Some days I'll swim a lot and some days I won't swim at all, and I'll just do pilates and running. Or I will just swim and lift weights. It's nice to have that variety.

Q: Where do you train?
I train at [University of California]-Berkley, which is where I went to school.

Q: What are your swimming plans for the immediate future?
I'll go for London in 2012, but right now I'm taking a very long break. Staying in shape but pretty much staying out of the water. I probably will be starting to compete again next fall during the World Cup circuit.

Q: Do you have any advice for young swimmers that want to get started in the sport, but might be afraid of water, or don't know where to swim?
There are club teams everywhere you go. I grew up in California and we have a plethora of teams to choose from. But just get started. It's great because you're outside in the sun and it's a lot of fun. And it's really important just to focus on the team aspect of it and having fun with your friends. And just being active — that's the main thing. If kids want to swim, if they want to play soccer, or whatever, they have to get outside and be active and healthy.

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