Natalie Coughlin has gone through it twice, escaping with eleven medals from two Olympics. So it must be easy for her by now?
“Trust me, the Olympics are terrifying,” Coughlin said after swimming in the Santa Clara Grand Prix on Sunday. “In a good way, but terrifying. There's nothing like walking onto the deck at the Olympic finals in front of, well, in Beijing, it was like 18,000 people, then there are millions and millions of people watching at home. So you feel those nerves, but usually you channel them in a good way.”
Comparing with her “Dancing With The Stars” participation in 2009:
“People were like, ‘Oh, you must be so nervous,' and I expected myself to be nervous, then I got out there and I was like, ‘This is nothing. You think this is nerve-racking, you need to go to the Olympic finals, because this is nothing!' “
Nice, Read Standard-Examiner
Here's 1996 and 2000 Olympic champion Amy van Dyken interviewing Coughlin