{"id":209362,"date":"2016-06-27T06:57:10","date_gmt":"2016-06-27T13:57:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=209362"},"modified":"2016-06-27T07:21:06","modified_gmt":"2016-06-27T14:21:06","slug":"morning-splash-looking-back-on-the-all-time-greatness-of-natalie-coughlin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/morning-splash-looking-back-on-the-all-time-greatness-of-natalie-coughlin\/","title":{"rendered":"Morning Splash: Looking Back on the All-Time Greatness of Natalie Coughlin"},"content":{"rendered":"

By David Rieder<\/em><\/p>\n

This morning, Natalie Coughlin<\/strong> will swim the first race of her fifth Olympic Trials. Coughlin is 34 years old and has won 12 Olympic medals, tying her with Jenny Thompson<\/strong> and Dara Torres<\/strong> for the most medals any American women has won.<\/p>\n

She was the first woman to break 1:00 in the 100 back in 2002, and six years later, she became the first woman to ever break 59.<\/p>\n

She has twice won Olympic gold in the 100 back, both times holding off Kirsty Coventry<\/strong>\u2014a legendary swimmer in her own right\u2014down the stretch. Twice she\u2019s earned the Olympic bronze in the 100 free after entering as an underdog.<\/p>\n

She finished a disappointing fourth in the 200 IM at the Trials in 2000 and swore off the event\u2014before swimming it on a whim a month out from the 2008 Trials. Fast forward to Beijing, and Coughlin won the bronze medal.<\/p>\n

She has been a staple on American relays for a decade and a half, helping the American women win World titles in the 400 free relay in 2003 and again in 2013.<\/p>\n

Coughlin has been versatile and consistent, has broken\u00a0world records over a span of six years and had her signature Olympic moments. Seems like she\u2019s one of the greatest swimmers of all-time, right?<\/p>\n

But then why does swimming\u2019s \u201cBig Four\u201d refer to\u00a0Michael Phelps<\/strong>, Ryan Lochte<\/strong>, Missy Franklin<\/strong> and Katie Ledecky<\/strong>? Even if she is no longer at the peak of her powers, why did Coughlin not even merit a pre-meet press conference at these Trials?<\/p>\n

Sure, she never won multiple individual gold medals at an Olympics or World Championships like that esteemed quartet. Coughlin shared the spotlight with the likes of Inge de Brujin<\/strong>, Hannah Stockbauer<\/strong>, Yana Klochkova<\/strong>, Laure Manaudou<\/strong>, Stephanie Rice<\/strong>, Coventry and then later Franklin and Ledecky. For all her accomplishments, she has only once been named Swimming World\u2019s<\/em> World Swimmer of the Year\u2014all the way back in 2002.<\/p>\n

But through all those eras come and gone, Coughlin has always been there.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s just always been so consistent,\u201d said NBC analyst Rowdy Gaines. \u201cEvery single race it\u2019s seems like she\u2019s in the final\u2014whatever she decides to swim, you know you can just kind of count on her to be there. She doesn\u2019t win all the time. She doesn\u2019t dominate. She never has dominated at the international level like Katie [Ledecky]. But she just kind of pecks away at the greatness.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Teri McKeever<\/strong>\u2014who coached Coughlin from 2000 until 2012\u2014it\u2019s been her protege’s ability to sustain her career for so long that stands out.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s got an amazing work ethic,\u201d McKeever said. \u201cShe obviously takes really great care of herself. She\u2019s a student of the sport and just really enjoys it and has found different ways to keep improving and stay sharp. It\u2019s been an inspiration to a lot of people.\u201d<\/p>\n

For all of her ups, Coughlin has had her downs as well\u2014most notably at the 2012 Olympic Trials, when she finished third in her signature 100 back and did not make the team until her final chance, when she finished sixth in the 100 free to qualify for the 400 free relay. She ended up winning a bronze medal in London as a prelims relay swimmer.<\/p>\n

For many, that would signal time to hang it up. For Coughlin, it meant an exciting new beginning.<\/p>\n

At that point, Coughlin began working with Cal men\u2019s coach Dave Durden<\/strong> and his group of professionals that includes 100 free Olympic gold medalist Nathan Adrian<\/strong>. She has shifted her primary focus to sprint freestyle, but she still has time for her old favorite, the 100 back, in which she enters today\u2019s preliminaries as the top seed.<\/p>\n

Naturally, the signature moments of Coughlin\u2019s career have come in that event. When asked to pick the moments that most stand out to them, both Gaines and McKeever\u2014who have been there for every one of Coughlin’s big races\u2014picked a 100 backstroke.<\/p>\n

Gaines picked the race in which she became the first woman under 1:00 in the event.<\/p>\n

\u201cHer signature moment to me was Fort Lauderdale Nationals in 2002,\u201d he said. \u201cHer first world record in a pool in Fort Lauderdale that was three feet deep. She hit her back on the start, on the bottom of the pool. To me, that was just incredible, even more so than her Olympic victories.\u201d<\/p>\n

McKeever recalled two moments, first remembering when Coughlin defended her Olympic title in Beijing\u2014just a day after Coventry had snatched away the\u00a0world record.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just think defending something is pretty special,\u201d McKeever said. \u201cProbably not the happiest moment that I ever had with her\u2014probably the biggest relief moment I\u2019ve ever had with her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then she remembered one moment that took place\u00a0at the first Olympic Trials held in Omaha eight years ago.<\/p>\n

In the prelims of the 100 back, Coughlin stood behind the blocks and watched Hayley McGregory break her world record. And then Coughlin took it right back.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou could just tell, she was like, \u2018Well, okay. If that\u2019s what we\u2019re gonna do.\u201d And then [she] broke it,\u201d McKeever said. \u201cI think she was just kind of swim to qualify, and then when Hayley did that, it was like, \u2018Okay, hot shot\u2014here we go.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Coughlin once again will stand behind lane four in the final heat of the women\u2019s 100 backstroke, just a few short hours from now. She is no longer the world record-holder or even the favorite.<\/p>\n

But she is still here, continuing to add to what is without a doubt one of the greatest swimming r\u00e9sum\u00e9s of all time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By David Rieder This morning, Natalie Coughlin will swim the first race of her fifth Olympic Trials. Coughlin is 34 years old and has won 12 Olympic medals, tying 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