In 2004 Natalie Coughlin won 5 medals in 5 events in the Athens summer Olympics.  In 2008 she won 6 medals in 6 events in the Beijing summer Olympics. In other words: 2 olympics - 4 years -  11 events - 11 medals (one medal per each olympics event). Why aren't TV, newspapers and the internet all over her fantastic achievement?  She's an astonishing athlete with amazing olympics achievements. Does being a woman make her accomplishment less impressive? How about just as impressive!

Michael Phelps is superb, as we know, but Coughlin is, too, and should be earning tons of press and praise.

• Phelps, 23 — swam 17 times in 9 days in heats, semi-finals and finals;
  he swam in 5 individual events and 3 relays - 8 events in all;
  he won 8 medals
• Coughlin, 26 — swam 14 times in 9 days in heats, semi-finals and finals;
  she swam in 3 individual events and 3 relays - 6 events in all;
  she won 6 medals
  

And she's "just a girl" (l.o.l. as they say). Would it in any way diminish his achievement to acknowledge hers?!

It may violate some unwritten code (I hope not) but I'm including the paragraph that brought all this to my attention. It's by Rachel Larimore writing at Slate's xx Factor. I'm including it verbatim because I agree with it completely and because, swimming fanatic though I am, I confess that I didn't know either and that upsets me. I'm mad at NBC, first and foremost, but also with myself for not knowing about it:

If there was anything that disappointed me about the Olympics swimming coverage, it's that Natalie Coughlin's own remarkable feat—winning six medals in six events for the U.S. women—went comparably unnoticed by NBC's commentators. Granted, her haul of one gold, two silvers, and three bronzes wasn't as impressive as Phelps', but she swam an ambitious program and has never finished out of the medals in 11 Olympic events (she also swam in 2004). (Emphasis added.)

As The Daily Breeze put it, "the winner of the most medals both in Beijing and four years ago in Athens is no surprise. But do you know who was second? Some hints: It's the same runner-up in 2004 and 2008. And it's a woman. She's from the United States. She's a swimmer, like Michael Phelps. No [not] Katie Hoff, who gets a lot of attention but doesn't have many medals to show for it."

Katie Hoff was the darling of the Beijing commentators. She'd won no medals in Athens when she swam there at 15 but she's only 19 now so could have two more Olympics if she wants them. This time she swam 4 individual and 2 relay events for which she won 3 medals (one silver and two bronze), no mean feat but nothing like what Coughlin accomplished.

So major and enormous congratulations to Natalie Coughlin! We need to arouse righteous indignation and lots of praise and get NBC to back up and give lots of praise where it's due. Phelps won 11 medals between the two Olympics - and so did Coughlin. He is 23, she is 26. He is a physiological phenom, she is lithe nut nothing like a "human dolphin." It's horrible that in 2008 her amazing feat has garnered almost no recognition so I'm doing my part. She is an extraordinary athlete. She is the first woman to win back-to-back Olympic gold in the 100m backstroke. And she is the first U.S. woman swimmer to win six medals in one Olympics - and she won 11 medals between the two Olympics, never failing to win at least bronze - one short of the record for a woman athlete.

Labels: sports, tv