Natalie Coughlin Has Ties to the Philippines
Aug 26, 2008
Gold medalistUS swimmer Natalie Coughlin (Center), silver medalist Zimbabwe’s Kirsty Coventry (Left) and bronze medal winner US swimmer Margaret Hoelzer (Right) (Photo by: TIMOTHY CLARY/AFP/Getty Images)
Viewers who have been tuning into the 2008 Olympics in Beijing may be interested in knowing that U.S. gold medal winner Natalie Coughlin’s maternal grandmother is from the Philippines.
Coughlin, who won gold in the 100m backstroke, is of Filipino and Irish heritage and lives in California. She also won two bronze medals in the 4 x 200m freestyle relay and the women’s 200-meter individual medley.
At the 2004 Olympic games in Athens, Coughlin won five gold medals, becoming only the third U.S. female athlete to do so at a single Olympics.
