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Happy Birthday - August 23 - Natalie Coughlin, Demetrio Albertini, Kobe Bryant

Happy Birthday - August 23 - Natalie Coughlin, Demetrio Albertini, Kobe Bryant

American swimmer Natalie Coughlin is an institution in her sport, not just in the United States but across the globe.

Coughlin, who turns 33 today, was the first-ever woman to go under one minute in the 100m backstroke in a long course pool and she did it 10 days before her 20th birthday back in 2002.

At the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, she became the first US female athlete in modern history to win six medals in one Olympics, and the first woman ever to win a 100m backstroke gold in two consecutive Games.

Her total tally of 12 Olympic medals ties her with Jenny Thompson and Dara Torres for the most all-time medals by a female swimmer.

Coughlin’s success has earned her the World Swimmer of the Year Award once (2002) and American Swimmer of the Year Award three times (2001, 2002 and 2008).

1971: Demetrio Albertini, Italian ex-footballer who was an AC Milan hero in the ‘90s. Played for Italy in two World Cups (44).

1978: Kobe Bryant, American 17-time All-Star NBA player, who has been an LA Laker since 1996 (37).

1979: Edgar Sosa, Mexican boxer who is the former WBC Light Flyweight Champion (36).

1988: Olga Govortsova, Belarusian tennis player, who hit a career-high ranking of 35 in 2008. Now world No70 (27).


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