INFO
Exclusive Interview
August 17, 2005
Suz: I wanted to start off by telling you that you did an amazing job at Worlds!
Natalie: Thank you.
Suz: Now that you've had a little while to reflect on your Worlds experience, what are your thoughts?
Natalie: I'm pretty happy with it. I think I think this year -- the year after the Olympics -- is a real interesting year. Where some people who may not have made the team worked extra hard. And those who had a successful Olympics either take off completely or just have a different approach to that year. I definitely was very laid back in terms of training. I tried not to put pressure on myself. I really tried to have a lot of fun and take advantage of every opportunity that came my way. So this year has kind of been a break while still swimming. So, I'm really happy with it. I'm really happy with how fast I swam considering the training I got to do. I'm really looking forward to getting back in the pool. I think I needed this year to refocus and regroup. I'm just really excited to get started!
S: Which of your races, individual or relay, was the most memorable from Worlds?
N: It would probably be the 400 Medley Relay. That was the last event of the meet and I made some pretty big changes, strategy-wise, in the 100 Back. Rather than go all out for the entire 100 like I normally do, I held back a lot on the first 50 to give myself a little more energy for the second 50. And it made all the difference in the world. Plus we had such a close race with the Australians; it was really exciting!
S: Did you get to do any sightseeing while you were in Montreal?
N: Not really. I did a little bit. The last day I didn't have any events. So I went out to lunch with my sister and my agents. My sister and went shopping in old town Montreal which was really great! We actually went to the art gallery and I ended up buying like 3 paintings and I'm so excited because I have a new house -- I guess not new, I've lived there about a year and a half -- but I'm so excited to get these paintings from a Montreal-born artist. So, we had a lot of fun! We only spent about 2 hours walking around, but we saw a ton of stuff.
S: How does it feel to see your name alongside some of the most recognized and accomplished female athletes as a nomimee for awards?
N: It's a huge honor. It's definitely a huge honor! And I think it shows that swimming is becoming more mainstream. It still has a long way to go in that out of all the Olympians, very few of us -- female or male -- very few of us are recognized by the general public. Which I enjoy, but for swimming as a sport, it definitely has a lot to accomplish in the next few years. With the Olympics coming, we have a lot of personalities coming out and we'll only get better and better.
S: If only we could get it on TV more, right?
N: Exactly! I know. And have it not be a week late or a month late on ESPN8 or something.
S: If they can put the Spelling Bee on and the Hot Dog Eating contest on...
N: That's exactly what I said! I mean, who really wants to watch hot dog eating?
S: Did you and Lindsay have fun on Teammates?
N: We did. We had a blast! We were really nervous going into it because you can win something like $15,000 or something, which is like pocket change to Barry Zito! So we were trying to get them to let us win! And we don't train together. We know each other very well considering the amount of time we see each other. But if you watched the show, we didn't know anything! Yea, it was real funny and we had a great time. When they split you up you would go backstage. So I was backstage with Bertrand Berry and Barry Zito, hanging out. And they are so fun! It was a really great time!
S: Did they give you any parting gifts?
N: Yea! I got an iPod Shuffle. I gave it to a friend because I had just bought a brand new iPod. [laughs] Then I got a Sony Cybershot camera. I was really excited because I needed a new camera! And they put us up in The Phoenician in Phoeniz, Arizona, which is like the most amazing resort! It was a lot of fun!
S: Going back to the Counsilman Classic in Indianapolis, was that the first meet you've competed at that was interrupted by a Tornado?
N: Yea, that was crazy! We were on the blocks and then they ordered us off because of the sirens, then it's like "we have a tornado...". You have got to be kidding me! I have never heard of tornados in Indiana! So yea, that was very interesting! It was so funny! If the alarm had gone off like 10 seconds later, I would have been done. I ended up swimming really fast in the 100 Free, so either way, it worked out!
S: Is it weird now that you're finished with college and everyone else is getting ready to start the new school year?
N: It's really exciting! I mean, last fall I didn't go back to school right away, but I was so busy with conferences, appearances and things like that. I'm still on break until about mid-September. I have a vacation planned and I get to go to Hawaii in like 2 weeks. I have all these mini-vacations planned. [laughs] It feel so wonderful. I get to relax, be at home with my friends...I'll be working out on my own so I don't get too out of shape! [laughs]
S: So what are you up to next; both short term and long term?
N: I guess short term, I want to get back into the water, meet the new freshman...we've got recruiting coming up. I'm technically a volunteer assistant coach and I'm really going to take that seriously. I know it's an NCAA rule that if you train with a college team you're technically an assistant, but I mean, Cal means so much to me and I really want to see the program get better than it already is. So, recruiting is big. Just get back into training. Hopefully I can do a couple of World Cups. I need to talk to Teri about those...I love the New York one! If that one fits into my schedule that'd be great! If Brazil fits into my schedule again, that'd be wonderful. That was a blast!
S: I hear it's crazy down there and the fans are great!
N: Yea, it is! It really is. But it's like beautiful. I mean, I was only there about 4 days but it was such a fantastic 4 days; really fun.
S: Do you Google yourself?
N: [laughs] I think I used to when I was younger, but not so much anymore. [laughs] At Worlds we were Googling other people's names to see what popped up! It's just a funny game we were playing as we were bored out of our minds at the hotel.
S: I know this is shameless, but I've noticed that you don't have an official site. Is that something you're going to do in the future?
N: Probably. I know my agents were looking at a domain name that was bought (nataliecoughlin.com) and I know we got the rights to that, but haven't done anything.
S: So, it's coming?
N: Eventually, eventually, but I have no idea what the timeline is [laughs]
S: A lot of the questions I get at my website is "How can I get in touch with Natalie?" or "How can I send an autograph request?"
N: One of the things I normally do is have people forward mail to my coach, Teri McKeever, and if they're reasonable requests, I try to send it back. [laughs] Sometimes people are like "Can you send me a poster?". I mean I would, but if I send a poster to everyone...I usually have a rule that if you send a Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope (SASE) I'll eventually get to it. I take all the letters --like from the USOC that are forwarded to me -- I take all of those, put them in a box and every few months, I'll sit down and do them all.
S: I know your birthday is a few days away, so I wanted to wish you a happy early birthday!
N: Thank you very much!
S: Do you have any special plans?
N: Not yet, not yet. It seems that everytime I make plans it gets all built up and excited about it and it's never really as exciting as you want it to be [laughs]. I'm just going to go out to eat with my parents, and it's "Welcome Week" at Cal, so I'll see what everyone else is doing.
S: Maybe a surprise party?
N: Doubt it! [laughs] But we'll just go with the flow!
S: I don't want to take up any more of your time, but thank you so much for taking time out of your day to talk to me.
N: Oh, no problem! Thank you! I really enjoyed it!
S: So have a great vacation and a wonderful birthday; you deserve it!
N: Thank you!
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