Different Strokes

Hoff's preparation goes beyond her work in the pool. She and Yetter frequently discuss the defining strengths of great athletes, from Tracy Caulkins's versatility to Michael Jordan's attitude ("He always said, 'You can't do things you don't expect to do,'" says Yetter) to 2004 track gold medalist Jeremy Wariner's distance per stride at the end of an exhausting 400-meter run. Yetter thinks the strength that defines Hoff at this point in her career is her attitude. "She has a lot of fun, but when it comes down to doing what she needs to do in the pool on a daily basis, she is focused and undeterred," says Yetter, who has worked with Hoff since 2003. "She does things in practice and in racing that are impossible to ignore. The plan wasn't for her to be a great 800 swimmer; it's something we've stumbled upon because she is such a well-rounded swimmer." Likewise, Hoff became a serious contender in the 400 freestyle two years ago when she lopped four seconds off her best time at nationals. "She did that 20 minutes after she set the American record in the 200 IM," says Yetter. "It became one of those things where we said, Well, the sky's the limit now."

COUGHLIN, a Cal grad who still trains with college coach Teri McKeever, has similar talent, though she has sometimes bridled at the expectations that come with it. Coughlin holds the American record in the 100 butterfly and the 100 free, and she was the world-record holder in the 100 backstroke for all but a few minutes of the last six years until Coventry broke her mark in the semis. Anyone could see that she should have been swimming the IMs, the events that established her as a star when she was a rising young swimmer a decade ago, but after she finished fourth in the 200 IM in the 2000 Olympic trials while struggling to come back from a shoulder injury, Coughlin essentially abandoned the event, swimming it only rarely and not training for it. "Growing up, I had problems with a [certain] coach, and for a long time the 200 IM brought back bad memories of being told I'm not doing as well as I should," says Coughlin. "I had a lot of emotional baggage with the IM."

Unexpectedly, that weight began to dissipate at a meet at Stanford this spring when Coughlin decided to swim the 200 IM on a lark. Swimming in lane 1 in the finals, she shaved four seconds off her lifetime best, which she had set at age 16. At the Janet Evans Invitational in early June, Coughlin again swam the 200 IM, basically because she had nothing else to do that day. She ended up breaking Hoff's American record. "I screamed when I saw the result," she said.

Even so, she didn't decide to try to qualify in the event at the Olympic trials until her fiancé, Ethan Hall, urged her to consider it about a week beforehand. If Hall hadn't succeeded, McKeever was standing by, ready to make, as she puts it, "a suggestion."

That's a telling choice of words, because Coughlin clearly calls the shots in her career. After Phelps shattered his world record in the 400 IM on Sunday, he told reporters that he had made a deal earlier with his coach, Bob Bowman, that the race would be his last 400 IM—if he set a record. Coughlin doesn't make deals. She is, as President Bush, who made a flag-waving appearance at the Water Cube at the beginning of the week, would say, the decider. "I'm 25, I don't really like to be told what to do," she says. "I'm stubborn that way."

Stubborn is not how the teammates who voted Coughlin a tri-captain—along with the 26-year-old Beard and 41-year-old Dara Torres—describe her. They admire her poise, her confidence, her life balance, her leadership. This summer she is using her status as an Olympian to promote Hearts of Gold, a program that benefits Right to Play, a humanitarian organization that helps children who have been affected by war, poverty and disease. "Natalie has that perfect-role-model type of presence about her," says freestyler Lacey Nymeyer.

But Coughlin is as fiercely competitive as Hoff. When Hayley McGregory broke Coughlin's 100 backstroke world record in the preliminaries at the Olympic trials in Omaha, Coughlin took it back two minutes later. She brings the same fire as a teammate. "The thing I appreciate about Natalie is that she'll lay it down on the relays," says Bauerle. "You wouldn't guess it by seeing her, because she's not rah, rah, rah, but she wants to win."

Bauerle says his team's main mission is to win more medals than the 10 it collected in Athens. After three days at the Cube, the U.S. women were well on their way with seven. Coughlin, Hoff et al. might not be on the verge of global domination, but they are making noise.

More from Kelli Anderson on Katie Hoff's showdown with Kate Ziegler in the 800 free at SI.com/Olympics.