Nathalie Schneyder (born May 25, 1968) is an American competitor and Coach in synchronized swimming and was an Olympic champion in team competition in 1996 in Atlanta. She also won team golds in FINA World competitions and Pan Pacific competitions. She competed in team, individual, and duet synchronized competition.[1]
Career
Starting swimming lessons around four years of age, Nathalie began competing in synchronized swimming with the Walnut Creek Aquanuts Synchronized Swimming Team by the age of eight.[1] An exceptional team first formed in 1968, to date the Aquanuts have been national champions 14 times. The group was fundamental in providing Nathalie with an early grasp of synchronized swimming skills.[2]
1996 Olympic Team Gold in Atlanta
Born in San Francisco, California,[3] she was a member of the American team that received a gold medal in synchronized swimming at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.[4] The team received the first "10" score in the synchro free style event in the history of the Olympics.[1] She also won a team gold medal in 1994 in Rome.[1]
According to one source, Nathalie married Division II swimmer and swim coach Erin Bartleson not long after the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.[5][6]
Influential coaches
Linda Krieger and Betty Hazel coached her in her earliest career. Her dancing abilities were enhanced by her Junior Team coach Joan Marie Vanaski. Nathalie swam with the U. S. National team for nine years. Lynn Virglio coached her each day in the tiring typical swim workout of 3 to 6 thousand yards she swam during training before her synchronized swim workout. She was taken from her club's junior team to the competitive team by Gail Johnson, a 1983 Hall of Fame inductee for synchronized swimming and four-time Olympic gold medalist. Her National Team Coach Chris Carver influenced her already largely developed skills. Karen Babb worked with her swimming figures. Hall of Famer Gail Emery, her club coach, may have been her greatest influence in developing her into an Olympic Champion.[1] Emery was named to the International Women Sports Hall of Fame in 1997, coached the Walnut Creek Aquanuts to consecutive national championships, was a three time Olympic coach for synchronized swimming, and coached the team for close to fifty years.[7] In 2000, Emery was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame as well.[8]
Competition medals
She won a team gold medal in the Pan American games in 1995 and in the Pan Pacific games in Tokyo in 1991.[9]
Four Fina Swimming World Cups
Nathalie was part of the team that won gold medals in the FINA Synchronized Swimming World Cup on September 7–9, 1989 in Paris, France,[10] on September 12–15, 1991 in Bonn, Germany), on July 7–10, 1993 in Lausanne, Switzerland, and on August 1–5, 1995 in Atlanta, Georgia.[6][1]
She won a silver team medal in the U.S. Nationals in 1992-1995, as well as taking bronze medals in duet and solo in 1993 (Fort Lauderdale) and 1995. In the 1988 and 1992 Swiss Open, she took a team gold with the American team. In the 1993 China Open, she took a silver in duet competition. She took a gold team medal in the 1994 French Open, which was particularly memorable to her as both her parents had emigrated from France.[1]
Coaching synchro
Schneyder began coaching synchronized swimming after she left competition. She worked with the US Junior national team, and teams in Argentina, China, Great Britain, and the Netherlands. She also coached at Stanford, helping them to win their NCAA title in synchronized swimming.[6]
Honors
She was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 2013.[6]
