Natalie Hinds

Natalie Hinds is an American professional swimmer specializing in freestyle and butterfly events. She qualified to compete at the 2020 Summer Olympics in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay as part of the 2020 U.S. Olympic swimming team, placing 4th at the US Olympic Team Trials. At the 2020 Olympics, Hinds won a bronze medal in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay, swimming in both the prelims and the finals.

Natalie Hinds
Personal information
Nationality United States
Born (1993-12-07) December 7, 1993[1]
Midland, Texas, USA[2]
Height188 cm (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Weight76.2 kg (168 lb)[1]
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesFreestyle, butterfly
ClubCali Condors[1]
Athens Bulldog Swim Club[2]
College teamUniversity of Florida
Medal record
Women's swimming
Representing the  United States
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 0 0 1
Total 0 0 1
Olympic Games
2020 Tokyo 4×100 m freestyle

Early life and education

Hinds learned to swim early in life from her mom, who was a competitive swimmer.[3]

She is a graduate of Midland High School.[4]

In college Hinds majored in Communication for her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Florida.[3] She graduated with her degree in 2016.[2]

Career

2012 US Olympic Trials

Hinds competed at her first US Olympic Team Trials in swimming in 2012 where she ranked 47th in the 100-meter butterfly and did not advance to the 2012 Summer Olympics.[5][6]

2015

In 2015 Hinds gained recognition from NBC, USA Swimming, and SwimSwam alongside Simone Manuel and Lia Neal for being the first trio of African-American swimmers at a Women's Division 1 NCAA Championship to sweep the podium, take first, second, and third place, in a single event.[7][8]

2016 US Olympic Trials

At the 2016 US Olympic Trials in swimming, Hinds ranked 40th in the 100-meter freestyle, 55th in the 50-meter freestyle, and 70th in the 100-meter butterfly and did not qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics.[9]

2016–2018: Taking a break from swimming

In 2016 Hinds decided to take a break from swimming, transitioning to app development as part of her job at Turner Broadcasting based in Atlanta, Georgia.[5][3] She returned to competitive swimming after being inspired by the 2018 USA National Championships.[3]

2020 US Olympic Trials

In the semifinals of the 100-meter freestyle at the 2020 US Olympic Trials in swimming, Hinds tied her training partner Olivia Smoliga for first place.[10] In the final Hinds ranked fourth, qualifying for the U.S. Olympic Team in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay for the 2020 Summer Olympics.[11]

In her other events, Hinds ranked 11th in the 100-meter butterfly semifinals with a time of 58.40 and ranked 11th in the 50-meter freestyle swimming a 25.14 in the semifinals.[12]

2020 Summer Olympics
See also: Swimming at the 2020 Summer Olympics
2020 Summer Olympics
4×100 m freestyle relay 3:32.81

The 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan were the first Olympic Games Hinds qualified to compete in.[5] Hinds swam in both the prelims and the final of the 4x100-meter freestyle relay.[13][14] In the prelims, Hinds and her prelims relay teammates Olivia Smoliga, Catie DeLoof, and Allison Schmitt placed fifth overall and qualified the relay to swim in the final.[15] Of the swimmers on her prelims relay, Hinds had the fastest individual time with a split of 53.28 seconds.[16] She and her finals relay teammates Abbey Weitzeil, Simone Manuel, and Erika Brown swam a 3:32.81 and earned the bronze medal in the final.[14][17] Hinds and Kieran Smith were the first two University of Florida Gators to win a medal at the 2020 Olympics.[17]

International Swimming League

In 2021, Hinds was chosen to compete for team Cali Condors in the 2021 International Swimming League.[18]

Personal

Sponsorships

For the 2020—2021 time span, Hinds signed a professional endorsement deal with the United States division of swimwear company Arena.[19]

Activism

Hinds is a vocal proponent of racial equality for African-Americans. Soon after the murder of George Floyd in May 2020, Hinds took to social media platform Instagram to support him.[20] Once USA Swimming put out a statement on its commitment to social justice following Floyd's murder, Hinds was one of a number of African-American swimmers who provided unsolicited feedback about what they thought the organization should and should not say and how they thought USA Swimming should change.[21] Hinds used the murder of Floyd as an opportunity to continue to share her support for the Black Lives Matter movement.[22]

See also

References
  1. "Team Rosters: Cali Condors - Natalie Hinds". International Swimming League. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  2. "2020 U.S. Olympic Team Roster". USA Swimming. June 21, 2021. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  3. SwimSwam (September 14, 2020). "SwimSwam Podcast: Natalie Hinds Shares Chronicles of a Lifelong Swimmer". YouTube. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  4. Brandenburg, Jakob (June 24, 2021). "West Texas Olympian Natalie Hinds reacts to making Team USA". CBS7. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  5. Carter, Scott (June 28, 2021). "Gators In Olympic Games: Natalie Hinds". University of Florida. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  6. Omega Timing (July 2, 2012). "2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials Complete Results". USA Swimming. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  7. "Three College Swimmers Make History At NCAA Championship: African-American swimmers took the top three finishes in a single event at NCAA Swimming Championships this weekend". NBC. March 23, 2015. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  8. "1st African American woman to win an Olympic medal relects on the historic 1-2-3 Minority Finish at Women's NCAAs". SwimSwam. March 23, 2015. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  9. "2016 Olympic Trials Results". USA Swimming. July 3, 2016. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  10. D'Addona, Dan (June 20, 2021). "Natalie Hinds, Olivia Smoliga Share Rare Bond, Now Olympic Teammates: 'That is Why This is So Special For Us'". Swimming World. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  11. "2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wave II: Women's 100m Freestyle Final Results" (PDF). Omega Timing. June 18, 2021.
  12. "2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials Wave II Complete Results". USA Swimming. June 20, 2021. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  13. Sutherland, James (July 24, 2021). "Tokyo 2020 Olympics: Day 1 Prelims Live Recap". SwimSwam. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  14. Anderson, Jared (July 24, 2021). "Tokyo 2020 Olympics: Day 1 Finals Live Recap". SwimSwam. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  15. Storrs, Mason (July 24, 2021). "Midland native Natalie Hinds, Team USA Women's 4x100m freestyle relay team qualify for Olympic finals". NewsWest 9. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  16. Omega Timing; Atos (August 1, 2021). "Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games: Swimming Results Book". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  17. Pinson, Chris (July 24, 2021). "Kieran Smith, Natalie Hinds first Gators to earn medals for Team U.S.A.". WCJB-TV. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  18. Penland, Spencer (August 1, 2021). "ISL Season 3: Free Agency Period Closed After 36 Free Agent Signings In July". SwimSwam. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  19. West, Brandi (September 17, 2020). "Arena USA signs 20x NCAA All-American, Natalie Hinds, through 2021". Swimming World. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  20. Ross, Andy (May 30, 2020). "Simone Manuel, Katie Ledecky and Natalie Hinds Speak Up on George Floyd Tragedy: 'Let's Listen, Engage and Build'". Swimming World. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  21. Hart, Torrey (June 20, 2020). "Whitley, Neal, Jones, Levant, Hinds Advised USA Swimming On BLM Statement". SwimSwam. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  22. D'Addona, Dan (September 1, 2020). "Natalie Hinds Discusses 'Fighting to be Equal,' Using Her Platform in Fireside Chat With Elizabeth Beisel". Swimming World. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
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