After four years of waiting, hundreds of miles in the pool and a gold medal signifying he's the reigning Olympic champion, former Cal swimmer Nathan Adrian still must prove himself.
Even with all the work and accolades, Adrian does not have a guaranteed spot on Team USA for the Rio Games. He'll have to qualify next week at the U.S. swimming trials in Omaha, Nebraska.
"I mean, it's kind of the blessing and the curse of being part of Team USA," said Adrian, who won the gold medal in the 100-meter freestlye at the London Games in 2012. "We have way too many fast people that would make that qualifying a standard. So we have to really compete for our spots."
Adrian, 27, started swimming when he was 2 years old. His first memory in the pool is riding on his mother's back during her lap swim.
"She would just swim with me on her back, just kind of like a turtle, you know," Adrian recalled.
The youngest of three siblings, the 6-foot-6 Adrian came to Cal in 2006, following in the rather large footsteps of another swimming giant, Matt Biondi. In 2012, Adrian became the first American since Biondi to win Olympic gold in the 100 free.
"When you hit the wall, and when you look, I mean, that was an incredible feeling to be able to look up and see a '1' next to my name and definitely surreal because I knew it was a close race," Adrian said. "And then, you just kind of let your emotions take over."
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This would be Adrian’s third trip to the Olympics. He knows the sacrifices he’s making today will pay off in August.
"I want to go back, and I want to represent Team USA," he said. "I want that, you know, American flag cap, and to just look up in the stands and have people going crazy wearing American flag shorts and hold the flag up and just because I'm representing my country they're going to cheer for me. That is just an incredible experience."
