On returning with the Cali Condors, she said, “It’s good. I wasn’t looking to switch teams. I had such a great experience last time and I am excited and ready to race. Everybody brings their own spice and personality to the team. I am excited to cheer for people and have people cheer for me.”
Hinds had kind words about General Manager Jason Lezak. “Jason has been so amazing. He has been very flexible during this ordeal. He is really good about communicating with us and getting our thoughts on things. I am really glad that he keeps us really informed,” she said.
“I’ve been good,” she admitted during quarantine. “It has had its ups and downs. I am back in Athens, Georgia, and I am training, so things are slowly returning to normal.”
“My training has been solid. We have been back together since June. It is nice to have that sense of normalcy and to be with our teammates. We are all looking forward to racing, especially those of us that are doing ISL, and we are ready to get into that mindset,” she said.
She acknowledged that she sees a silver lining in this pandemic. “I’ve changed as a person from the beginning to the end, especially with the racial tensions in our country. I’ve seen an improvement in my training and that really helps with adversity,” she said.
“With my platform, I’ve always pushed education. That’s very important. I want people to be educated before they make an opinion or pass judgment on someone else or something. It’s really important to vote and research things that you don’t know. It’s important to embrace culture and it’s important to learn history and where people come from,” she said about the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement and its significance.
On the title of the current chapter of her life, she responded, “Realization.”
She listed the freestyle as her personal favorite stroke in swimming. “I love backstroke too since you can breathe,” she said.
Although the Tokyo Olympics got postponed to 2021, she feels that the postponement has given her time to get stronger and to enhance her confidence. “I am definitely looking forward to the extra time to prepare for the Olympics,” she said.
Hinds defined the word success as “how she impacts others and achieving goals.” “I want to help others too since that gives me a lot of joy,” she said.
For her fans and supporters, Hinds expressed, “I am always grateful to the people that have supported me during this time and for giving me objective advice. My parents have been my rock through all of this. Everybody has their own struggles especially during this time so I am very grateful.”
To learn more about American swimmer Natalie Hinds, check out her official homepage and follow her on Instagram.
