U.S. Olympic Swimmer Nathan Adrian On Touching The Wall First

U.S. swimmer Nathan Adrian, 23, left the London Olympics with the individual gold medal he so desperately wanted, and in doing so became the first American since Matt Biondi in 1988 to win gold in the 100m freestyle. Adrian also helped Team USA win the gold medal in the 4x100m medley and the silver in the 4x100m freestyle. These medals, to go along with his gold in the 4x100m freestyle in Beijing, should all fit nicely on the swimmer’s hulking 6’7’’ frame.

Adrian was born and raised in Bremerton, Wash., and began swimming when he was five years old, with the help of his bother and sister, who both went on to swim at the Division One collegiate level. Adrian attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he was a five-time individual NCAA champion, winning twice in the 50-yard freestyle and three times for the 100-yard freestyle. Adrian graduated from Berkeley with honors in 2011 with a degree in Public Health. Adrian managed to balance his collegiate responsibilities with his competitive swimming aspirations, enabling him to amass a total of fifteen medals in international competition over his career.

Adrian’s mother was born and raised in China and, at a young age, Adrian was nicknamed “Bok Choi” by the girls on his swim team. Of course, now he bears the title of “three-time Olympic gold-medalist,” a distinction that was of particular importance to Adrian heading into the 2012 Games.

“I have a gold medal [from Beijing], but I was not on the podium, I was only a prelims relay swimmer,” Adrian told Uinterview exclusively prior to London. “It’s cool to be able to say ‘Hey, I’m an Olympic gold medalist,’ but I think it would mean a little more personally if I was actually in the water racing in that final seat, trying to get your hand on the wall first.”