California magazine blog

Talent pool

Cal phenom Natalie Coughlin has wrapped up her Olympic performance in Beijing. She'll bring home six medals from the Games, more than an American woman, in any sport, ever has from a single Olympiad. Add to that the five medals she won in Athens and Coughlin is tied with swimmer Matt Biondi for total Olympic medals for a Cal athlete. According to this video snippet from the Speedo party (not what it sounds like) in Beijing, Coughlin hopes to add even more bling to her trophy case in London 2012.

For more news about how Bears have fared in this Olympics, go here.

Covergirl

Natalie Coughlin, who graced the cover of our Centennial Issue, rallied to win gold in the 100-meter backstroke in Beijing. In out-touching Zimbabwe's Kirsty Coventry, who set the world record in the semifinal heat, Coughlin became the first woman ever to defend an Olympic title in that event. As a Bear, Coughlin won 12 NCAA titles and now lays claim to 7 Olympic medals. She'll be competing in more events in Beijing, so stay tuned. For now, go here to view footage of her gold-medal performance.

Berkeley on the medal map

Very cool interactive map featured at the Times online today that allows you to see medal counts by country and by Olympiad. The map is also tabbed so you can view the medal counts represented geographically or by ranking. It's interesting to note that in the 2004 Games in Athens, Cal athletes brought home a total of 15 medals. If Cal were a country, it would have been 18th in the rankings, between Greece and Belarus. Pretty good. For a roster of UC athletes competing in Beijing, go here. And go Bears!