The International Swimming Hall of Fame is the center of gravity for all water-related sports. Later this year, the organization will induct one of the most decorated athletes in the sport at the ISHOF and Masters Induction Ceremony on October 15th. With a dozen titles and accolades to show for, Natalie Coughlin is as deserving a candidate for the honor as it gets.

Why is Natalie being inducted into the Hall of Fame?

The three-time Olympic gold medalist began her journey in swimming at a very young age (6). With consistency and hard work, she went on to win NCAA Swimmer of the Year at Cal thrice after winning 12 NCAA titles. Coughlin also swam in the first year of the International Swimming League (ISL).

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By 2004, she had already won her first gold in an Olympic meet. Additionally, she went on to win a silver and a bronze medal in the same competition.

She competed in the next two subsequent Olympics, where she put on a magnificent performance. Coughlin is also the first woman to win back-to-back gold medals in two Olympic Games.

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Natalie is also the first woman to swim the 100m backstroke event (long course) in less than a minute. She achieved this feat during the US Nationals at the International Swimming Hall of Fame Aquatic Complex in 2002.

Eventually, she improved this time to less than 59 seconds, becoming the first woman to do so.

Coughlin is also the first female athlete from the US to win six medals at a single Olympic meet. She was able to achieve this at the Beijing Olympics.

With so many medals, people began to draw parallels between Natalie and Phelps. In fact, during an interview once, she jokingly admitted, “I am the female Michael (Phelps).”

Post competitive years of Natalie Coughlin

Even after retiring from the sport, Natalie has stayed in the limelight, making one too many media appearances. In 2009, she participated in the popular reality show, Dancing with the Stars. However, most people know her for making appearances on cooking shows.

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The mother of two is quite a hobbyist and enjoys cooking, gardening and photography. She has even authored a cookbook, named ‘Cook to Thrive: Recipes to Fuel Body and Soul.’ Apart from these hobbies, she also likes to go surfing.

Last year, the former competitive swimmer was inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame at Oracle Park, San Francisco.

Not to mention, Natalie is also a winemaker and is currently a partner of Gaderian Wines in Napa Valley, California.