People have gone through great lengths to avoid jury duty, but perhaps none greater than Nathan Adrian. When the world’s best 100-meter freestyle swimmer was called for duty, his nation needed him in London to be part of the US Olympic swim team that dominated the games.
After coming back to the US with gold in the 100-meter freestyle and 4x100 medley, Adrian’s time has been in even greater demand. First stop was to his hometown in Bremerton, WA: population 39,000. “I’ve felt the support from my hometown since the day I left,” Adrian says, “whether it was the people on the local sports commission or the sportswriter that I know on a first name basis because she’s been covering me since I was a freshman in high school. The reception they had for me was just incredible.”
Opportunities come fast and furious for gold medal winners. Some are from great sponsors, others just fun things to do. “It’s strange to get these opportunities and it still feels weird to have to turn things down. I got invited to go to the White House to meet the President. At that point, I was being pulled in so many different directions; I just couldn’t make the schedule work. You would never think you would have to say no to something like that until you are going through it.”
Adrian had competed in Beijing in 2008, bringing home one gold. Having already competed in an Olympic Games, he believes it made London a much richer experience. “You realize once you get past the TV cameras, it’s just another meet, although it’s going to be faster. I didn’t go into it putting a ton of expectations on myself. I just wanted to swim my best, and if it works out, it works out.”
It worked out just fine. In the 100-meter freestyle final, Adrian swam in 47.52 seconds, his fastest time ever, to win gold. It was the first time an American had won the event sine Matt Biondi in 1988. Adrian added a second gold in the 4x100-meter relay, providing the anchor leg for Michael Phelps, Matt Grevers and Brendan Hansen.
Adrian is already hard at work training for the World Championships this summer in Barcelona. “Knock on wood, I’m going to try for one more Olympics as well he says.” But in the meantime, he’s going to allow himself to enjoy the fruits of his success a bit more. “Every day that I’m home, I’m going to train. But when I’m travelling, getting a chance to enjoy something I’ve never had the opportunity to do, I’m going to take a break from the pool and enjoy it.”
