Chikina Hired as Diving Coach

Lincoln - Two-time Olympian Natalya Chikina has been hired as Nebraska’s head diving coach, Husker Head Coach Pablo Morales announced Wednesday.

"We are ecstatic to bring someone of Natalya’s caliber to head our diving program," Morales said. "During our long search, it was a unanimous sentiment from all corners of the diving community that she would be an outstanding hire."

Chikina, a native of Kazakhstan, competed at the Atlanta (1996) and Sydney (2000) Summer Olympic games. Chikina finished 15th at the Atlanta Games, before capturing a ninth-place finish on the 10-meter Platform in Sydney. Between competitions, Chikina placed fourth at the 1998 NCAA Championships for the University of Southern California, where she earned NCAA All-American honors in 1997 and 1998. She was also the Pac-10 champion on the three-meter springboard in 1997 and 1998.

"She brings outstanding technical expertise combined with a tremendous coaching demeanor that will undoubtedly yield fabulous results at the Division I level," Morales said. "She is the perfect fit to build upon the success of her predecessors here at Nebraska and be part of our development into a championship-level program."

Chikina has extensive experience in the coaching field, serving as the assistant head coach at the U.S. Diving Regional Training Center since 2001. She was also the assistant coach of the Trojan Diving Club (1998-2001) and the assistant diving coach at her alma mater (USC) in 1998-99, helping coach future Olympians Troy Dumais and Dorte Linder.

Chikina earned her bacherlor’s degree in social science and communications from USC in 1999, after completing her physical education and coaching degree from the Kazakb Institute of Physical Education in Almaty, Kazakhstan in 1996.