Golden Girl

by SILVER, MICHAELCOUGHLIN, NATALIE

• ISBN13: 9781594862540
• ISBN10: 1594862540
• eBook ISBN(s): 9781609616700
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-04-18
• Publisher: Rodale Books
• More Book Details
• Purchase Benefits

Summary

"When Natalie Coughlin burst into the world's living rooms in the summer of 2004, twice striking gold in Athens in the midst of the most prolific performance in a single Olympic by any American woman, she looked like the quintessential champion. Beautiful, graceful, intelligent, and engaging, Coughlin parlayed years of painstaking preparation into a glorious burst of achievement and attention." "In Golden Girl, Sports Illustrated's Michael Silver tells the story of Natalie's remarkable journey back from the brink. With complete access to Coughlin's family, friends, coaches, teammates, and adversaries, Silver delves into the drama that preceded her world record-setting, five medal-winning effort in Athens: the severe illness she suffered at the 2003 World Championships, causing her to downscale her Olympic plans and generating whispers that she was destined to buckle under pressure, and the hurtful rebukes from jealous teammates aimed at Coughlin during her senior season at Cal, a year which ultimately featured the team coming together to pull out the most emotional victory in school history."--BOOK JACKET.

Author Biography

MICHAEL SILVER, a senior writer at Sports Illustrated, is a highly respected sportswriter and coauthor of several bestselling sports memoirs. He lives in Northern California.

NATALIE COUGHLIN has built a reputation as the most versatile, dominant swimmer in the world. Seizing five medals at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens—two gold, two silver, and one bronze—Natalie’s performance is considered the best in Olympic history by any American woman.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Introduction	xiii
Just the Two of Us	1	(13)
Where the Heart Is; Where the Action Is	14	(16)
Jiggle, Jiggle, Jiggle	30	(20)
The Hard Sell	50	(14)
Golden Bare	64	(15)
The Horse Whisperer	79	(15)
Blown out of the Water	94	(14)
Science Fiction	108	(19)
Coming Together, Falling Apart	127	(15)
Sharks and Minnows	142	(13)
Swimming Not to Lose	155	(18)
Blue Valentine	173	(16)
One for the Team	189	(17)
Free at Last	206	(23)
Half Chlorine, Half Tears	229	(17)
Greeced Lightning	246	(27)
Epilogue	273