Natalie Coughlin Has One Last Chance OMAHA - One more race. One more chance. Natalie Coughlin, the 11-time Olympic medalist who is 0-for-2 trying to qualify for her third Olympic team, swam just fast enough Friday night to advance to the finals of the 100-meter freestyle at the Olympic Trials. Coughlin's time of 54.48 seconds ranked seventh among the 16 semifinalists; the top eight moved on. "Good enough," she said. I'm just really happy. I have one more race. Hopefully, I'll put myself on the team with that race. Coughlin adds even more star power to Saturday night's high-profile final at the CenturyLink Center, which features Missy Franklin, Allison Schmitt and Dana Vollmer - all already on the team - plus Jessica Hardy and the fastest qualifier, the American record-holder Amanda Weir. Coughlin needs to finish fourth or better to guarantee a spot on the 4 x 100 free relay, though the fifth and sixth-place finishers could be added later. Many thought the 29-year-old Coughlin blew her best shot by finishing third behind the teenagers Franklin and Rachel Bootsma in the 100 backstroke, the event she won Olympic gold back-to-back in 2004 and "08. Coughlin's longtime coach, Teri McKeever, who will also coach the women's Olympic team, said Coughlin handled her disappointment with grace and class. McKeever reminded Coughlin that Bootsma, a Cal recruit, was 5 years old when Coughlin arrived in Berkeley, and that Bootsma has a poster of Coughlin on her bedroom wall. "She's pretty good," McKeever said of Coughlin. "She goes: "People keep looking at me like I'm dead. I'm fine. If I had anything to do with that, that's just as good as whatever I had to do with those 11 medals, too. It's not over. But the way she's carrying herself, I feel proud about that piece of it, too. Said Coughlin: "Yeah, I'm stressed, but what I've been saying the last three years is true. This is all icing on the cake. I really want to be there representing my country and doing the best that I can. If I don't, I don't. Life goes along. That's why you don't see me freaking out. A lot of people are expecting to me to throw some big hissy fit, which is a little offensive, because it's just a race. I was truly happy for Boots and Missy. The 100 free is one of my best events as well, so hopefully I'll do something special tomorrow night. Lia Neal of Brooklyn, who four years ago made a splash as the youngest trials competitor at age 13, earned the last spot in the 200 free final with a time of 54.60. Her role model? Natalie Coughlin. There's a lot of that going around.