Nathan Adrian facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Nathan Adrian

Adrian at the 2016 Olympics
Personal information
Born	(1988-12-07) December 7, 1988 (age 36) Bremerton, Washington, U.S.
Height	6 ft 6 in
Weight	225 lb
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Freestyle
College team	University of California, Berkeley
Coach	Dave Durden (Berkeley)
Medal record Men's swimming Representing the  United States Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 5 1 2 World Championships (LC) 10 4 2 World Championships (SC) 2 1 0 Pan Pacific Championships 6 2 1 Pan American Games 2 3 0 Olympic Games Gold 2008 Beijing 4×100 m freestyle Gold 2012 London 100 m freestyle Gold 2012 London 4×100 m medley Gold 2016 Rio de Janeiro 4×100 m freestyle Gold 2016 Rio de Janeiro 4×100 m medley Silver 2012 London 4×100 m freestyle Bronze 2016 Rio de Janeiro 50 m freestyle Bronze 2016 Rio de Janeiro 100 m freestyle World Championships (LC) Gold 2009 Rome 4×100 m freestyle Gold 2009 Rome 4×100 m medley Gold 2011 Shanghai 4×100 m medley Gold 2015 Kazan 4×100 m medley Gold 2015 Kazan 4×100 m mixed freestyle Gold 2017 Budapest 4×100 m freestyle Gold 2017 Budapest 4×100 m medley Gold 2017 Budapest 4×100 m mixed freestyle Gold 2019 Gwangju 4×100 m freestyle Gold 2019 Gwangju 4×100 m mixed freestyle Silver 2013 Barcelona 4×100 m freestyle Silver 2015 Kazan 50 m freestyle Silver 2017 Budapest 100 m freestyle Silver 2019 Gwangju 4×100 m medley Bronze 2011 Shanghai 4×100 m freestyle Bronze 2013 Barcelona 100 m freestyle World Championships (SC) Gold 2008 Manchester 100 m freestyle Gold 2008 Manchester 4×100 m freestyle Silver 2008 Manchester 4×100 m medley Pan Pacific Championships Gold 2010 Irvine 50 m freestyle Gold 2010 Irvine 100 m freestyle Gold 2010 Irvine 4×100 m freestyle Gold 2010 Irvine 4×100 m medley Gold 2014 Gold Coast 4×100 m medley Gold 2018 Tokyo 4×100 m medley Silver 2014 Gold Coast 100 m freestyle Silver 2014 Gold Coast 4×100 m freestyle Bronze 2014 Gold Coast 50 m freestyle Pan American Games Gold 2019 Lima 4×100 m medley Gold 2019 Lima 4×100 m mixed freestyle Silver 2019 Lima 4×100 m freestyle Silver 2019 Lima 50 m freestyle Silver 2019 Lima 100 m freestyle Representing the California Golden Bears Event 1st 2nd 3rd NCAA Championships 11 3 2 Total 11 3 2 By race Event 1st 2nd 3rd 50 y freestyle 2 1 0 100 y freestyle 3 0 0 4×50 y freestyle 1 1 1 4×50 y medley 1 1 0 4×100 y freestyle 2 0 1 4×100 y medley 2 0 0 NCAA Championships Gold 2009 College Station 50 y freestyle Gold 2009 College Station 100 y freestyle Gold 2010 Columbus 100 y freestyle Gold 2010 Columbus 4×50 y freestyle Gold 2010 Columbus 4×100 y freestyle Gold 2010 Columbus 4×100 y medley Gold 2011 Minneapolis 50 y freestyle Gold 2011 Minneapolis 100 y freestyle Gold 2011 Minneapolis 4×100 y freestyle Gold 2011 Minneapolis 4×50 y medley Gold 2011 Minneapolis 4×100 y medley Silver 2009 College Station 4×50 y medley Silver 2010 Columbus 50 y freestyle Silver 2011 Minneapolis 4×50 y freestyle Bronze 2009 College Station 4×50 y freestyle Bronze 2009 College Station 4×100 y freestyle

Nathan Ghar-jun Adrian (born December 7, 1988) is an American competitive swimmer. He is famous for winning five Olympic gold medals. He used to hold the American record for the 50-meter freestyle race in a long pool.

Nathan Adrian has won many medals in big swimming competitions. He has earned twenty gold, seven silver, and five bronze medals. These include medals from the Summer Olympics, the FINA World Aquatics Championships, and the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, he won a gold medal in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay. He swam in the early races, helping his team reach the final.

At the 2012 Summer Olympics, Nathan won two more gold medals. He won the 100-meter freestyle race and was part of the 4×100-meter medley relay team. He also earned a silver medal in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay. In the 2016 Summer Olympics, he won two more gold medals in relays. He also earned individual bronze medals in the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyle races.

Early Years and College

Nathan Adrian was born in Bremerton, Washington, in 1988. His mother, Cecilia, is from Hong Kong and works as a nurse. His father, James, was a nuclear engineer. Nathan has two older siblings, Donella and Justin, who also swam.

Nathan started swimming when he was five years old. He was inspired by his older brother and sister. He finished high school at Bremerton High School in 2006.

After high school, Nathan went to the University of California, Berkeley. He studied public health and continued swimming for the college team. His coach was Dave Durden. Nathan was a very successful college swimmer. He won five individual championships in the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association). He won the 50-yard freestyle in 2009 and 2011. He also won the 100-yard freestyle in 2009, 2010, and 2011. He graduated with honors in 2012.

Swimming Career Highlights

Nathan Adrian has had an amazing career in swimming. Here are some of his biggest achievements:

2008 Short Course World Championships

In 2008, Nathan competed in the Short Course World Championships. He won two gold medals. One was in the 100-meter freestyle. The other was in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay. His relay team set a new world record time. He also won a silver medal in the 4×100-meter medley relay.

2008 Beijing Summer Olympics

Nathan made his Olympic debut at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. He swam in the early races for the 4×100-meter freestyle relay. His team set a world record in the heats. Even though he did not swim in the final race, he earned a gold medal because his team won.

2009 World Championships

At the 2009 World Aquatics Championships, Nathan won two more gold medals. He was part of the winning 4×100-meter freestyle relay and the 4×100-meter medley relay teams. In the freestyle relay, he swam the last part and helped his team win by a small margin.

2010 Pan Pacific Championships

The 2010 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships were a great success for Nathan. He won four gold medals. He won the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyle races. He also helped his team win the 4×100-meter freestyle and 4×100-meter medley relays.

2011 World Championships

At the 2011 World Aquatics Championships, Nathan won a bronze medal in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay. He also won a gold medal in the 4×100-meter medley relay.

2012 London Summer Olympics

Adrian claims gold in relay at the 2015 World Championships

Nathan qualified for his second Olympics at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials. He finished first in the 100-meter freestyle.

At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Nathan won his first individual Olympic medal. It was a silver in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay. Later, he won a gold medal in the 100-meter freestyle final. He won by a tiny amount, just one-hundredth of a second! This made him the first American man to win this event since 1988.

He won another gold medal as part of the U.S. team in the 4×100-meter medley relay. His fast swimming helped the team win. After the Olympics, a street in his hometown of Bremerton, Washington, was renamed "Nathan Adrian Drive" to honor his achievements.

2013 World Championships

Nathan continued his success at the 2013 World Aquatics Championships. He won a silver medal in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay. He also earned a bronze medal in the 100-meter freestyle race.

2015 World Championships

At the 2015 World Championships, Nathan won a silver medal in the 50-meter freestyle. He also helped his team win two gold medals in relays. One was the 4×100-meter mixed freestyle relay, where his team set a new world record. The other was the 4×100-meter medley relay.

2016 Rio Summer Olympics

Nathan qualified for his third Olympics at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials. He won both the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyle races.

In Rio de Janeiro, Nathan won four medals. He won a gold medal as the last swimmer for the 4×100-meter freestyle relay. He also earned two bronze medals in his individual races: the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyle. He finished his Olympics with another gold medal in the 4×100-meter medley relay. His team set a new Olympic record in this race.

2018 Pan Pacific Championships

In August 2018, Nathan competed at the 2018 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Tokyo, Japan. He won a gold medal as part of the USA men's 4x100-meter medley relay team.

2019 World Aquatics Championships and Pan American Games

Nathan faced a health challenge in early 2019. He bravely fought it and returned to swimming. In July 2019, he competed at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships. He won a gold medal in the men's 4x100-meter freestyle relay.

In August 2019, Nathan also competed at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru. He won several medals there:

• Silver in the men's 4x100-meter freestyle relay
• Gold in the mixed 4x100-meter freestyle relay
• Silver in the men's 100-meter freestyle
• Silver in the men's 50-meter freestyle
• Gold in the men's 4x100-meter medley relay

2020 US Olympic Trials (held in 2021)

Nathan competed in the 2020 US Olympic Trials in June 2021. He hoped to qualify for his fourth Olympic Games. He swam in the 100-meter and 50-meter freestyle events. Although he swam well, he did not qualify for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. However, his performance earned him a spot on the 2021–2022 US National Team, which was his 14th time on the team.

Personal Bests

These tables show Nathan Adrian's fastest times in different swimming events.

Personal Life

In May 2017, Nathan Adrian got engaged to Hallie Ivester. They had been dating for six years. They got married on September 15, 2018, in Rutherford, California. They welcomed their daughter on February 9, 2021.

In January 2019, Nathan shared that he had been diagnosed with a health challenge. He had surgery and recovered. He showed great strength and determination by returning to competitive swimming.

Fun Facts

Nathan Adrian Drive road sign in Bremerton, Washington

Nathan Adrian appeared on the TV show MythBusters in 2009. He helped the hosts test if someone could swim as fast in syrup as in water. The hosts found that his swimming technique was too affected by the syrup to get clear results.

In 2014, Nathan Adrian was honored by being inducted into The Robert Chinn Foundation Asian Hall of Fame.

See also

In Spanish: Nathan Adrian para niños

• List of multiple Olympic gold medalists
• List of multiple Summer Olympic medalists
• List of Olympic medalists in swimming (men)
• List of United States records in swimming
• List of University of California, Berkeley alumni
• List of World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming (men)
• List of world records in swimming
• World record progression 4 × 100 metres freestyle relay
• World record progression 4 × 100 metres medley relay