HINDS Natalie

General
RETIREMENT AND COMEBACK
Following her unsuccessful bid at the 2016 US Olympic team trials she retired from swimming. She worked for Turner Media for two years but while watching the 2018 US National Championships she realised she wanted to train again. She moved to Athens, Georgia, to join a post-graduate swimming group at the University of Georgia. "I saw 2018 Nationals and I was like, man, they're having a lot of fun. I was sitting at a desk nine to five, and I was like, I don't want to do this anymore. So I had a conversation with my parents and decided, like, 'OK, I'm going to do this'. Then I moved to Athens within the next five days after that decision, and it was scary." After securing her spot for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo she admitted that her retirement was a chance to reassess her commitment to swimming. "So that break for me was such a blessing. I learned mostly that, you know, walking on deck here I was like, I have a different perspective. I know what life is like outside of swimming, so I know how much I love swimming and how much this moment means to me. I think that's what I learned from the break. It was a good mental break for me as well." (floridagators.com, 28 Jun 2021; nataliehinds.com, 2021)

FRIENDSHIP WITH SMOLIGA
While swimming for the University of Florida she competed against Olivia Smoliga who was racing for the University of Georgia at the same time. When Hinds decided to return to swimming she first stayed with Smoliga in Athens, Georgia, to see if training with the post-graduate swimming group at the University of Georgia would work out for her. In 2021 they both qualified for the women's 4x100m freestyle relay for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. "Liv is the first person I saw when I drove and parked in Athens, and she did nothing but help me. She helped me set everything up, helped me with setting up weights and coaches and, this is what we do here. I'm so grateful for her. This is such a full-circle moment for us. I know Liv feels the same. She has been there with me since I was out of shape and since then, we have gone through the ups and the downs, all the Pro Swim Series, all the hard practises, and this is just so special." (swimmingworldmagazine.com, 20 Jun 2021)

BUSINESS OWNER
In 2020 she launched Loominary Design, a custom design tapestry company. (nataliehinds.com, 2021)