Oly - Coughlin aims for medals haul

By Larry Fine

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Exceeding the five Olympic medals she won in 2004 and lowering her 100 metres backstroke world record are what American Natalie Coughlin hopes to achieve at next month's Beijing Olympics.

Coughlin, 25, who won two gold, two silver and a bronze at the Athens Games, clocked a world record of 58.97 seconds at the U.S. Olympic trials in Omaha, Nebraska, the third time she has broken the record this year.

"I feel great. I've never had so many lifetime bests in my adult career," Coughlin told Reuters in a telephone interview from California on Thursday.

"I'm swimming personal bests in the 100 back, the 100 freestyle and the 200 IM and those are my three individual events in Beijing. Hopefully I will be on three relays as well.

"So I have a full schedule in Beijing but I'm excited about the challenge and I think I'll fare pretty well."

Coughlin, who was the first woman to break one minute in the 100 backstroke in 2002, held the record until compatriot Hayley McGregory lowered her mark in a heat at the trials.

Coughlin reclaimed it in the next heat and then broke it again in the final and believes she could go faster.

"The beauty of swimming is that the water is dynamic, and is an ever-changing medium. There's no such thing as a perfect race and my swim at trials was far from a perfect race so I could always improve."