Olympic Gold Medalist Natalie Anne Coughlin is of Filipino Origin

Posted on August 12, 2008
Filed Under 2008 Beijing Olympics, Promoting Filipino Image | Viewed 2441 times

I got this email from a former office mate who is now based in the US.

In case you are not aware, a member of the US Olympic swim team is a Filipina and looks Filipina when she wears her swim cap, although she is blond and has blue eyes. I learned about it two days ago when my wife’s cousin and her husband from San Francisco came to town. She is Natalie Coughlin and is 1/4th Filipino. Her grandma is 100% Filipino married to an American. Her mother, 50% Filipino married also an American and thus Natalie, the daughter is 25% Filipino. She eats pancit and lumpia when she attends get-together parties with her relatives in the San Francisco bay area. She is the niece of the husband of my wife’s cousin. Sort of circuitous relationship but definitely Natalie is related to all of us Filipinos. Please take a moment to cheer for her during her best event—-the 100 meter backstroke which will be shown on TV live tonight.—Rodney Tucay

REJOINDER
Natalie won the gold medal in the 100 meter backstroke in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She was able to defend her title (after having won the gold in the Athens Olympics 4 years ago). As we watch the event including the award ceremonies, her Filipina features stand out. We cheer her accomplishments as also our own.—Rodney

From Wikipedia:

Natalie Anne Coughlin (born August 23, 1982 in Vallejo, California) is a American swimmer who has represented the United States at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, and at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China. She won multiple medals at both of these Games and became the first woman ever to win a 100m backstroke gold in two consecutive Olympics. She is known for her dominance in a short course pool and for her underwater kicking ability. She currently holds World, American and US Open records in various events.

Coughlin lives in Lafayette, California and originally from Concord, California and is of Filipino and Irish heritage. As of April 2008, she is engaged to Crow Canyon Sharks coach Ethan Hall; they are planning an April 2009 wedding.

Prior to the 2004 Olympics, she was a student-athlete at Carondelet High School in Concord CA, Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, California, then later at the University of California, Berkeley, where she earned a BA in psychology in 2005. She had won twelve National Collegiate Athletic Association Swimmer of the Year honors in her first three years at the university.

Coughlin worked as an in-studio host for MSNBC during the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy.
Photocredit: from Google Image

Comments

9 Responses to “Olympic Gold Medalist Natalie Anne Coughlin is of Filipino Origin”

kyels on August 13th, 2008 11:22 am

Wow, this is really cool!

[:
mixednuts on August 13th, 2008 11:59 am

That’s one good news for the Philippines. We the government we have, nothing good seems to be happening lately. Thanks for this.
dimaks on August 13th, 2008 7:21 pm

well, i think it is still a plus factor for the Philippines
jvdichoso on August 13th, 2008 11:14 pm

I am so proud to she her win all this gold medals.
My blood is overflowing with pride to be a filipino. Natalie should represent the philippines in the next olympics. It will make our country”great again”.
issai on August 14th, 2008 3:23 am

i used to live in vallejo with my mom. my mom brags about the pool where she first trained in. she wants my son to take swimming lessons from the same place since it’s blocks away from my mom’s home. now, we live near lafayette, it’s a small world.
Fitz on August 15th, 2008 1:10 am

Time and again, we have always celebrated people with Filipino origin who had achieved greatness for another country rather than the Philippines.

Isn’t it unfortunate that we still haven’t produced a “homegrown” talent?

Anyway, I salute all the Filipino athletes and congratulate them for doing their best. And I’m optimistic that someday, the country will really have it’s own Olympic gold medal.

Thanks for sharing this post.
lisaflor on August 15th, 2008 6:26 pm

I agree with Fitz. I hope our government will actually train and support our athletes and own homegrown talents. What always happens is when an athlete (or artist, scentist, whatever) becomes famous, that’s the only time the government would recognize and support that athlete. We have a lot of talented locals, waiting to be trained properly. Where’s our youngest swimmer (from Cebu, the one who swam from Mactan Island to Cebu?), why isn’t he trained to be part of the Philippine team?

Sorry for blabbering. Kakairita lang kasi. Ayan tuloy, Filipinos are representing countries other than their own. Tsk.
L. Ward on August 26th, 2008 9:54 am

As a Filipina Australian,bakit nyo ina-adopt si Natalie,eh! born in U.S. not in Philippines,
L. Ward on August 26th, 2008 9:59 am

Ito pa si Natalie, ang picture nya pinakita nyo ,,paano yung tunay na Pinoy nanalo ng Gold, bakit wala ang picture nya,kahit papano makasabi man lang tayo ng wowowow,,