Born and raised in Bremerton, Washington, Nathan Adrian (1988– ) began swimming at an early age, following in the footsteps of his older siblings, and is now one of the most decorated American sprinters in history. He attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he won five individual NCAA championships in the 50y and 100y freestyle. Adrian took a year off to train for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, where he won a gold medal in the 4x100m freestyle relay.
After graduation, he focused on training for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. He won his first individual gold in the 100m freestyle, lunging to the wall in 47:52s, one-hundredth of a second ahead of James Magnussen. He also helped Team USA win the 4x100m medley relay and bring home silver in the 4x100m freestyle relay.
Adrian was recruited to join The Olympic Club in 2014, as he was training for the 2016 Olympics in Rio. He began competing for the Club at the U.S. Masters Swimming (USMS) Spring National Championships that year, winning four individual titles. He currently holds four USMS records, three of which were set in 2014.
During the 2016 Olympics, Adrian became a household name as he brought home four more medals. He won bronze medals in the 50m and 100m freestyle, and gold medals in both the 4x100m freestyle (with Caeleb
Dressel, Michael Phelps and Ryan Held) and 4x100m medley relays. In the 4x100m medley, Adrian, Cody Miller, Ryan Murphy and Phelps set a new Olympic record of 3:27:95. Adrian anchored the relay with a 46:74 split, almost a second faster than his gold medal-winning time in 2012.
At the 2019 World Championships, Adrian anchored the U.S. 4x100m free relay team to a gold medal. After taking a step back from competitive swimming, Adrian is focused on running a Learn to Swim program in San Rafael and raising a family. He continues to swim for the Club at USMS events, winning a national title in the 50y fly earlier this year. He has participated in the Club’s Aquatics Showcases and helped raise money for The OC Foundation. He was inducted into the Cal Athletic Hall of Fame in 2022.
