Natalie Hinds

Natalie Anisha Hinds is an American professional swimmer specializing in freestyle and butterfly events.

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.

Hinds competed at her first US Olympic Team Trials in swimming in 2012 where she ranked 47th in the 100 meter butterfly with a time of 1:00.81 and did not advance to the 2012 Summer Olympics.

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.

She graduated with her degree in 2016.

At the 2016 US Olympic Trials in swimming, Hinds ranked 40th in the 100 meter freestyle with a 56.31, 55th in the 50 meter freestyle with a time of 26.08 seconds, and 70th in the 100 meter butterfly with a 1:01.08, not qualifying for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

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.

After a break from swimming, Hinds trained with the Athens Bulldog Swim Club following her return to swimming in 2018 and through winning a medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

In 2022, Hinds announced her return to Florida to train as part of the postgrad group at the University of Florida.

She returned to competitive swimming after being inspired by the 2018 USA National Championships.

She made her international championships debut at 27 years of age, winning a bronze medal in the 4×100 meter freestyle relay at the 2020 Summer Olympics, swimming in both the prelims and the final.

In her first final at a World Championships in an individual event, she placed eighth in the 100 meter freestyle at the 2022 World Short Course Championships when she was 29 years old.

At the 2022 US National Championships, she won the national title in the 100 meter freestyle.

Between the 2022 World Aquatics Championships (long course) and the 2022 World Short Course Championships, she won a total of five medals in relay events as a prelims-only relay swimmer.

Hinds was born to parents Claudia Hinds and Melvin Hinds.

She learned to swim early in life from her mom.

She is a graduate of Midland High School.

In college Hinds majored in Communication for her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Florida.

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

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.

Both Hinds and Olivia Smoliga touched in at 53.55 seconds in the first of two semifinals heats.

In the final Hinds ranked fourth, qualifying for the U.S. Olympic Team in the 4×100 meter freestyle relay for the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Her father was in the crowd in-person to see it happen, while her mother watched it play out on television as she was concerned about her anxiety and nerves potentially affecting her daughter's performance.

The 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan were the first Olympic Games Hinds qualified to compete in and her first international championships, making her 27 years old at her international debut.

Hinds swam in both the prelims and the final of the 4×100 meter freestyle relay.

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.

Of the swimmers on her prelims relay, Hinds had the fastest individual time with a split of 53.28 seconds.

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.

Hinds and Kieran Smith were the first two University of Florida Gators to win a medal at the 2020 Olympics.

In 2021, Hinds was chosen to compete for California-based team Cali Condors in the 2021 International Swimming League.

By the end of the 2021 season, Hinds had earned a total of 225 Most Valuable Player points over the 16 matches she had competed in since the debut of the International Swimming League in 2019, ranking her as 83rd out of 488 competitors in the history of the league in terms of total Most Valuable Player points earned.

On day two of the 2022 Pro Swim Series in Westmont, Illinois in early March, Hinds placed fourth in the 100 meter freestyle with a time of 54.74 seconds.

For the third day, she placed fifth in the final of the 100 meter butterfly with a time of 58.73 seconds, and on the fourth day she finished sixth in the final of the 50 meter freestyle with a 25.29 after swimming a 25.23 in the prelims heats.

At the end of March, Hinds started competition at the 2022 Pro Swim Series stop held at Northside Swim Center in San Antonio, Texas by qualifying for the final of the 100 meter butterfly on day two with a 59.85 that ranked her eighth overall in the prelims heats.

In the final, she placed sixth with a 59.37.

In the morning prelims heats the next day, she swam a 25.39 to qualify for the final ranking third, 0.35 seconds behind first-ranked Claire Curzan and 0.04 seconds behind second-ranked Erika Brown.

She placed fifth in the final with a time of 25.29 seconds.

For the prelims heats of the 100 meter freestyle on day four, she qualified for the final ranking fourth with a time of 54.73 seconds.

With a time of 54.30 seconds in the final, she placed third.

In her first event of the 2022 US International Team Trials in Greensboro, North Carolina in April, the 100 meter freestyle on day one, Hinds ranked first in the prelims heats with a time of 53.77 seconds, qualifying for the final later the same day.