Nathan Adrian, an Olympic gold-medal-winner, was born in Bremerton, Wash., on Dec. 7, 1988 (age: 34). Adrian is from a family of swimmers; both of his older siblings – Justin and Donella – swam in college. Influenced by them, Adrian began swimming at the age of 5, in addition to playing soccer.

Nathan Adrian Bio: Competitions

Adrian swam throughout high school and graduated in 2006. He went on to attend the University of California, Berkeley, and majored in public health. He eventually graduated with honors in 2012. While attending Berkeley, he won the NCAA 50-yard freestyle in 2009 and 2011, and the 100-yard freestyle 2009-2011.

In 2008, Adrian, combined with Ryan Lochte, Bryan Lundquist and Doug Van Wie won gold at the 2008 Short Course World Championships in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay. The team set a world record time of 3:08:44

At the 2008 Olympic trials, Adrian placed fourth in the 100-meter freestyle and sixth in the 50-meter freestyle. In Beijing at the Games, Adrian split the 4×100-meter freestyle with Cullen Jones, Ben Wildman-Tobriner and Matt Grevers – together, they broke the world record with a time of 3:12:23. However, that record was broken the next day when Michael Phelps, Garrett Weber-Gale, Jones, and Jason Lezak swam a time of 3:08:24. Because he swam in the heats – but not in the final – Adrian earned a gold medal. Though he was happy to have a gold-medal, Adrian told Uinterview exclusively that it only made him hungrier to win a gold himself in the finals in 2012. “ I have a gold medal, but I was not on the podium, I was only a preliminary relay swimmer,” he said. “It’s cool to say, ‘Hey I’m an Olympic gold-medalist,’ but I think it would mean more personally if I was actually in the water racing in [those] final feet, trying to get your hand on the wall first.”

Adrian participated in the 2009 World Aquatics Championships in Rome. He won the fold for the 4×100-meter freestyle and medley relays. The U.S. team placed first in the final, and Adrian won another gold medal.

In 2010, Adrian swam at the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships. Adrian ultimately won four gold medals while competing.

Nathan Adrian Bio: Olympic Trials, Training

At the 2011 World Aquatics Championships, Adrian won the bronze medal in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay along with Phelps, Weber-Gale, and Lezak. In the final, he placed sixth, and in the 4×100-meter medley relay, he and his teammates snagged the gold medal. At the National Championships later that year, Adrian defended his 50-meter freestyle title. He was moved to fourth in the world, and chose to sit out of the 100-meter freestyle in order to prepare for the Olympics the following year.

While prepping for the 2012 Olympic Games, Adrian took uInterview through a typical schedule. “I wake up at 5:15 in the morning, get a quick breakfast, at the pool by 5:45, in the water at 6:00. Swim until about 7:45, 7:50, and then I go get second breakfast,” Adrian said. “Take a nap, wake up and get some more food, go to school and then go get some more food. Go to my weights practice at 12:30, lift weights from 12:30 to 2:15 or so. Then from 2:15 I get into the water until 3:30. After that it’s just rest and relax, get some more food. Hang out with the guys, eat dinner, go to bed, get up and do the same thing the next day.”

Adrian made the U.S. Men’s Olympic team for the second time at the Olympic Trials when he finished first in the 100-meter freestyle and third in the 50-meter freestyle. At the 2012 Olympics, Adrian won a silver in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay, finishing behind France’s team. He won the gold medal in the 100-meter freestyle final, defeating favorite-to-win James Magnussen. This made him the first American male to win the event since 1988 when Matt Biondi won. Adrian won a second gold medal by being a member of the winning team in the 4×100-meter medley relay, swimming the anchor freestyle leg. Of all the swimmers, Adrian had the fastest time in the field with 46.85.

At the 2013 World Championships, Adrian swam with Lochte, Anthony Ervin, and James Feigen in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay, finishing behind France. Adrian swam the lead-off leg and had the fastest lead-off time in the field. He won the bronze medal at the 100-meter freestyle final, a mere 0.02 seconds behind silver-medal winning Feigen.

At the 2016 Olympics in Rio, Adrian won a gold medal for the 4×100 medley relay and the 4×100 freestyle, and a bronze medal for the 100m freestyle and the 50m freestyle.

Adrian went on to compete in the 2013, 2017 and 2019 World Championships and has collectively won 11 gold medals, five silver medals and two bronze medals from each year he competed.

Nathan Adrian On Olympic Diet, Stress

When he’s training or competing Adrian doesn’t follow a strict diet, but still eats well to complement his workouts. “I definitely try to stay away from too many simple sugars,” Adrian told Uinterview exclusively. “I always make sure I have some fruits and vegetables, pretty much with every meal. I’ll have a good ratio of proteins to carbs, and anything that you really think I probably don’t eat, I probably don’t eat it.”

Additionally, Adrian does his best to just relax before competitions. “I really think putting too much pressure on myself doesn’t work — I think I don’t manage my energy levels properly and I end up really tired from trying to focus that hard,” Adrian told Uinterview. “So kind of taking a little bit of a relaxed approach, and then right behind the blocks is really when you kind of, when you get ready to jump in and do your thing.”

After competing, Adrian does like to splurge here and there. “There are quite a few things that I’ll splurge on, one of which is ice cream,” Adrian told Uinterview. “I really like ice cream, especially cookies ‘n cream or mint chocolate chip. I also like Oreos dipped in milk. Something about an Oreo dipped in milk — it just soaks it up really well.”

Nathan Adrian On Battle With Testicular Cancer

Adrian was diagnosed with testicular cancer in December 2018, amid training for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He quickly underwent surgery to remove his left testicle, as well as to remove some of his lymph nodes. Adrian was instructed not to lift anything more than 15 pounds for six weeks post-op, a challenge for any Olympic athlete. Less than six months later, Adrian returned to the world of competitive swimming.

In 2019, following treatment, he won silver medals in the 50m and 100m freestyles at the Pan American Games. Adrian was a member of the gold-medal-winning 4×100 freestyle relay and 4×100 freestyle mixed relay teams at the FINA World Championships that year.

The 2020 Olympic games were postponed to 2021 due to Covid-19. Adrian did not qualify for these games, which came a little more than two years after his diagnosis.

Adrian is currently cancer free and is now an advocate for testicular cancer in the athletic world.

Nathan Adrian Bio: Dating History, Personal Life

He is rumored to have dated Natalie Coughlin, though it was never confirmed. In 2018, he married Hallie Ivester after dating for six years. The couple welcomed a daughter in February 2021.

According to the Team USA profile Adrian – the son of a nurse and a nuclear engineer – hopes to go into medicine in the future to become a doctor.

Nathan Adrian, Age News