Natalie Coughlin

“You see a lot of us lingering around. We'll just stand there on the edge of the pool and kinda psych ourselves up into getting in.”

“There's just something about that cold rush that I know I hate and a lot of other swimmers hate.”

“I'm comfortable in the locker room situation, so whatever.”

“I generally wake up at 4:30, have breakfast No. 1, then get to the pool by 5 a.m.”

“I actually love swimming but I just hate jumping in the water.”

“The pressure of the Olympic Games is real overwhelming.”

“When I was little, I wasn't so little. I had a big old round belly and I was really clumsy, but I was super confident.”

“There's an adage that a lot of coaches have, that I completely disagree with, is if you make the Olympic team too early you become complacent.”

“I was the official wedding photographer at one of my best friends' weddings. Fortunately she was one of the most easygoing brides ever, so she made it easy for me.”

“I hate how late we have our Olympic Trials, always have.”

“I live in a swimsuit so I'm really comfortable with my body.”

“I don't have any superstitions, but what I always travel with is my pillow and my coffee.”

“I very much looked up to Janet Evans and Summer Sanders.”

“I was tempted my junior year to go out of college and forgo my eligibility. I had broken several world records. I did have a lot of people telling me that I should go pro.”