Natalie Coughlin Photo: ABC
Olympic swimming gold medalist Natalie Coughlin is the most decorated female athlete of both the 2008 Beijing and 2004 Athens Games. Coughlin has won a medal in every single Olympic event that she has ever entered for a total of 11 Olympic medals.
In 2008 she became the first American female athlete to win six medals in one Olympiad in addition to becoming the first woman to win consecutive individual Olympic gold medals in the 100m backstroke.
Coughlin is also the most decorated female swimmer in World Championship history with sixteen medals. Born and raised in northern California, Coughlin attended the University of California, Berkeley, where she earned a B.A. in psychology in 2005.
Natalie’s partner is Alec Mazo who famously became the first professional champion of “Dancing with the Stars,” having successfully partnered with Kelly Monaco in Season 1.
Alec Mazo has been dancing since he was five years old. He moved to America from Russia with his family when he was 12. Mazo and his wife fellow “Dancing with the Stars” pro Edyta Swilinska, only turned professional in 2005, having been successful amateur Latin competitors for the previous five years.
The ninth season of “Dancing with the Stars” premieres September 21st on ABC.
Source: ABC
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