Thursday, February 10, 2022
Black History Month Trailblazers: Natalie Hinds
It wasn’t long ago that Natalie Hinds was completely out of the sport of swimming.
Following the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Swimming, she stopped training and competing to focus on her job as an app developer with Turner Broadcasting.
However, after watching 2018 U.S. National Championships, she was inspired to return and resume her dream to swim at the Olympics.
Now, several years later, she is not only Olympian–having made the 2020 team–but she’s an Olympic medalist. She and her 4x100-meter freestyle teammates won bronze in Tokyo.
Natalie grew up in Midland, Texas, where she was one of the top recruits in the nation coming out of high school for the class of 2012.
She competed for the University of Florida and graduated in 2016 as a 20-time All-American sprinter – winning bronze in the 100 freestyle at 2015 NCAA Championships.
Being one of the few Black swimmers at the U.S. National and Olympic-caliber level, Natalie is a leader in the swimming and sports community.
At those 2015 NCAA Championships, Natalie made history with Lia Neal and Simone Manuel to become the first trio of Black swimmers–male or female–to go 1-2-3 in a single event at the NCAA championships.
Before the start of the race, Natalie’s mom relayed something to her that she hadn't realized.
“She mentioned to me that there were three African-American swimmers in the final, and it was a big deal,” Hinds said after the race. “I was so focused on my race that I didn't really even notice. It wasn't until later when we were all standing on the podium that it hit me.”
That historic moment in Natalie’s career became the turning point for her to bring awareness to and create educational opportunities for diverse swimmers in the sport of swimming.
She is a vocal proponent of racial equality, and soon after the murder of George Floyd in May 2020, she took to Instagram to support him. She was one of a number of swimmers who provided feedback about what the swimming community should and should not say and how the sport should and could change moving forward.
Hinds used the death of Floyd as an opportunity to continue to share her support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
Today Natalie is an accomplished speaker, using her platform to share her inspirational comeback story. Post-Olympics in 2020, she launched Loominary Design, turning her long-time passion of designing custom tapestry into a successful business.
Following the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Swimming, she stopped training and competing to focus on her job as an app developer with Turner Broadcasting.
However, after watching 2018 U.S. National Championships, she was inspired to return and resume her dream to swim at the Olympics.
Now, several years later, she is not only Olympian–having made the 2020 team–but she’s an Olympic medalist. She and her 4x100-meter freestyle teammates won bronze in Tokyo.
Natalie grew up in Midland, Texas, where she was one of the top recruits in the nation coming out of high school for the class of 2012.
She competed for the University of Florida and graduated in 2016 as a 20-time All-American sprinter – winning bronze in the 100 freestyle at 2015 NCAA Championships.
Being one of the few Black swimmers at the U.S. National and Olympic-caliber level, Natalie is a leader in the swimming and sports community.
At those 2015 NCAA Championships, Natalie made history with Lia Neal and Simone Manuel to become the first trio of Black swimmers–male or female–to go 1-2-3 in a single event at the NCAA championships.
Before the start of the race, Natalie’s mom relayed something to her that she hadn't realized.
“She mentioned to me that there were three African-American swimmers in the final, and it was a big deal,” Hinds said after the race. “I was so focused on my race that I didn't really even notice. It wasn't until later when we were all standing on the podium that it hit me.”
That historic moment in Natalie’s career became the turning point for her to bring awareness to and create educational opportunities for diverse swimmers in the sport of swimming.
She is a vocal proponent of racial equality, and soon after the murder of George Floyd in May 2020, she took to Instagram to support him. She was one of a number of swimmers who provided feedback about what the swimming community should and should not say and how the sport should and could change moving forward.
Hinds used the death of Floyd as an opportunity to continue to share her support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
Today Natalie is an accomplished speaker, using her platform to share her inspirational comeback story. Post-Olympics in 2020, she launched Loominary Design, turning her long-time passion of designing custom tapestry into a successful business.