Natalie Coughlin
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"Natalie Coughlin Hall", née "Natalie Anne Coughlin", is an American competition swimming (sport)/swimmer and twelve-time Olympic Games/Olympic medalist. Ten days before her 20th birthday in 2002, she became the first woman ever to swim the World record progression 100 metres backstroke#Long course 2/100-meter backstroke (long course) in less than one minute. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, she became the first U.S. female athlete in modern Olympic history to win six medals in one Olympiad, and the first woman ever to win a 100-meter backstroke gold in two consecutive Olympics.

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You get through [the exhaustion] by saying [the Duel in the Pool] is just an extension of the world championships, ... Everyone's exhausted -- the United States, the Australians, the coaches, everybody.

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Ties are pretty rare. I don't think I've ever tied anybody.

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I don't know what Aaron is doing, but it's working. He works really hard and he enjoys the sport, which is really important. That comes through in his races. He's going to keep getting better and better.

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The year after the Olympics is always an interesting year.

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It was really close, but we did the best we could, ... It feels good that the whole team won, though.

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The year after the Olympics is always an interesting year. The Australians are getting better and better. . . . Each team is pushing each other to get better. It's good for the sport of swimming and it's good for both teams.

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It felt good. I was just trying to make it into the top 8. I tend to go out really fast and try to hold on, and for this one, I just tried to let myself go fast, but not force it, and then make myself come home. That was my strategy, and I think it worked.

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This whole meet has kind of been survival mode. I'm definitely not in peak condition. I can't focus really, really intensely for four years straight.

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Some keep their school ties forever, and I know I'm going to be one of those people, ... Who knows, if I get bored between Olympics, maybe I'll become an assistant coach for the team. If they'll have me, that is.

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