Freestyle swimmer Nathan Adrian is one of the brightest Asian American prospects for a medal at this month’s London Olympic Games — and one of the most popular members of the USA Olympic team to boot. Not only is the half-Chinese Cal grad a gold medalist from the 2008 Beijing Games, he has the kind of looks and fun-loving personality that energizes teammates and attracts media focus.
At the US Olympic trials in Omaha in early July Adrian qualified for the 100-meter freestyle and the 400-meter freestyle relay, the event for which he won a gold in Beijing in 2008. Adrian, 23, isn’t favored to win the 100-meter sprint; that status belongs to Australian star James Magnussen whose best time in the 100 meters is 47.10 seconds, a full second ahead of Adrian’s qualifying time of 48.10. Adrian’s personal best time in competition was 48.00 seconds posted in July 2009 at the Indianapolis Grand Prix.
It was Magnussen’s dominance in the event that prompted US Olympic legend Michael Phelps — who won 8 golds in Beijing as well as 6 in Athens — to drop it from his schedule for the London Games to focus on the longer distances and the 100 butterfly. As far as medal prospects, not even Michael Phelps has come closer than Adrian to Magnussen’s time this season. That gives Adrian the inside track to win at least a silver or bronze in the 100-meter freestyle — as well as the best outside chance at gold in the hurly-burly of Olympic competition.
Aside from USA teammate Cullen Jones posted 48.46 seconds at team qualifying, the only swimmer likely to threaten Adrian’s medal chances is Korean Park Tae-hwan who posted 48.85 to win the event at the Santa Clara International Grand Prix in early June. Adrian had posted 48.50 in the preliminaries of that event but left before the finals to attend the wedding of his older brother Jason. But Park’s main focus is the 400 and 800 meters, and may not be at his best for the 100-meter free.
And of course Adrian — who stands 6-6 and weighs 220 pounds — and Team USA is poised to bring home golds in the 400-meter freestyle relay, though Magnussen and the Aussies are definitely a threat in that as well as a slew of other swimming events.
Adrian’s underground popularity on the blogosphere exploded after the 2012 Indianapolis Grand Prix when his suit ripped down the back seam just as he was diving off the block. He won the race anyway — and thousands of new fans who admired not only what the tear revealed about his physique but also about his focus and determination. Those assets are expected to serve him well in London when pressure can produce surprises and upsets.
Nathan Adrian was born on December 7, 1988 in Bremerton, Washington, the third of three children of a Chinese mother born in Hong Kong and a caucasian father who worked as a nuclear engineer. Adrian’s older sister swam at Arizona State and older brother Justin swam at the University of Washington. Their influence induced Adrian to take up swimming at the age of five. He swam for Bremerton High School before enrolling at UC Berkeley in the fall of 2006. He became one of Cal’s most successful swimmers, winning individual NCAA championships in the 50-yard freestyle in 2009 and 2011 and the 100-yard freestyle in 2009, 2010, and 2011. He also led Cal to the NCAA Swimming National Championship in 2011.
Adrian has cultivated a large Twitter following with frequent amusing updates about his personal and competitive life. His fans know a great deal about his enthusiasm for yoga and for cooking. Among family and friends his nickname is Bok Choy, a type of Chinese cabbage.
