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| Full name | Nathan Adrian | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | Bok Choy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | USA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | December 7, 1988 Bremerton, Washington |
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| Height | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 220 pounds (100 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stroke(s) | Freestyle | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | University of California- Berkeley | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | Cal | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Nathan Adrian (born December 7, 1988) is an American swimmer and Olympic gold medalist who currently holds the American record in the 50 and 100-yard freestyle (short course).[1]
At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Adrian swam in the heats of the 4×100 m freestyle relay and earned a gold medal when the United States won in the final. He has won a total of twelve medals in major international competition, ten gold, one silver, and one bronze spanning the Olympics, the World, and the Pan Pacific Championships.
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Adrian was born in Bremerton, Washington in 1988, the son of James and Cecilia Adrian. His mother, Cecilia, is Chinese and was born and raised in Hong Kong. Cecilia is a nurse for the Bremerton school district and his father, James, is a retired nuclear engineer for the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.[2] Adrian has an older sister, Donella, who swam at Arizona State, and an older brother, Justin, who swam at Washington. Adrian started swimming at the age of five because of the influence of his siblings. He is a 2006 graduate of Bremerton High School.[3] Adrian is currently a pre-med student at the University of California, Berkeley. At Cal, Adrian is a five-time individual NCAA champion: Winning the 50-yard freestyle in 2009 and 2011 and the 100-yard freestyle in 2009, 2010, and 2011.[4][5][6][7]
At the 2008 Short Course World Championships, Adrian won gold in the 100 m freestyle and 4×100 m freestyle relay and silver in the 4×100 m medley relay. In the 4×100 m freestyle relay, Adrian combined with Ryan Lochte, Bryan Lundquist and Doug Van Wie won gold in a world record time of 3:08.44.[8] In his second event, the 100 m freestyle, Adrian won gold in a time of 46.67, just ahead of Filippo Magnini who finished second with a time of 46.70.[9] For his last event, the 4×100 m medley relay, Adrian combined with Randall Bal, Mark Gangloff and Ryan Lochte won silver behind Russia.[10]
At the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, Adrian placed 4th in the 100 m freestyle, qualifying him to swim in the at the Olympics.[11] He also placed 6th in the 50 m freestyle.[12]
In the heats of the 4×100 m freestyle relay, Adrian swam the first leg, splitting a time of 48.82. Cullen Jones, Benjamin Wildman-Tobriner and Matt Grevers completed the relay with a final time of 3:12.23, a world record.[13] This record was broken one day later when Michael Phelps, Garrett Weber-Gale, Cullen Jones and Jason Lezak swam a time of 3:08.24, beating France and Australia in the final. By swimming in the heats, Adrian earned a gold medal even though he didn't swim in the final.[14]
Adrian was training under coach Mike Bottom in the Florida Keys as part of The Race Club World Team leading up to the 2008 Oylmpics in Beijing.
At the 2009 National Championships, Adrian placed first in the 50 and 100 m freestyle, qualifying him to swim at the 2009 World Aquatics Championships in Rome.[15][16]
At the 2009 World Aquatics Championships, Adrian earned gold in the 4×100 m freestyle relay and the 4×100 m medley relay. Adrian also placed 6th in the 50 m freestyle and 10th in the 100 m freestyle.[17][18] After Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte and Matt Grevers completed their legs in the 4×100 m freestyle relay, the United States had a slight deficit behind Russia. However, Adrian swam the anchor leg in 46.79 to overtake Danila Izotov for first place. The final time of 3:09.21 was a championship record.[19] In the 4×100 m medley relay, Adrian contributed in the heats (with Matt Grevers, Mark Gangloff and Tyler McGill) and earned a gold medal when the United States placed first in the final.[20]
At the 2010 National Championships, Adrian qualified to compete at the 2010 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships by winning the 50 and 100 m freestyle titles.[21][22] His win in the 100 m freestyle also guaranteed him a spot on the 4×100 m freestyle and medley relay.
At the 2010 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, Adrian won a total of four gold medals, the best performance of his career. In his first event, the 100 m freestyle, Adrian won the gold medal in 48.15, beating Canadian Brent Hayden and world-record holder in the 100 m freestyle César Cielo.[23] The following day, Adrian lined up alongside Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte and Jason Lezak to anchor the 4×100 m freestyle relay. With no competition, Adrian recorded a time of 47.51 and the American team went on to win the gold in a time of 3:11.74.[24] The following day, Adrian then competed in the 50 m freestyle and the 4×100 m medley relay. In the final of the 50 m freestyle, Adrian shocked favourite Cielo, winning in a time of 21.55. Cielo finished second in 21.57.[25] About an hour and a half later, Adrian competed in the 4×100 m medley relay with Aaron Peirsol, Mark Gangloff and Michael Phelps. Performing the freestyle leg, Adrian recorded a time of 47.54, the fastest in the field and the American team went on to win the gold in a time of 3:32.48.[26]
Adrian won his first medal, a bronze, in the 4×100 m freestyle relay with Michael Phelps, Garrett Weber-Gale, and Jason Lezak. Swimming the anchor leg, Adrian recorded a time of 47.40.[27] In the final of the 100 m freestyle, Adrian placed sixth with a time of 48.23, well off his semifinal time of 48.05. In the 50 m freestyle final, Adrian placed fourth with a time of 21.93, just 1/100 of a second ahead behind third-place finisher Alain Bernard. In his last event, the 4×100 m medley relay, Adrian teamed with Mark Gangloff, Michael Phelps, and Nick Thoman to win gold in a time of 3:32.06. Swimming the freestyle leg, Adrian had a time of 47.64.
At the 2011 National Championships, Adrian defended his 50 m freestyle title with a time of 21.84.[28] His time moved him to fourth in the world behind César Cielo (21.52), Bruno Fratus (21.76), and Frédérick Bousquet (21.78).[29] He chose to sit out of the 100 m freestyle in order to prepare for the 2012 Summer Olympics.
| Event | Time | Venue | Date | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 m freestyle (long course) | 21.46 | Rome | July 31, 2009 | |||
| 100 m freestyle (long course) | 48.00 | Indianapolis | July 10, 2009 | |||
| 50 m freestyle (short course) | 20.71 | Manchester | December 19, 2009 | |||
| 100 m freestyle (short course) | 45.08 | Manchester | December 19, 2009 | |||