USA’s Nathan Adrian, Defending Olympic Champion, Wins Bronze In 100M Freestyle

Nathan Adrian, defending Olympic gold medalist in the men’s 100-meter freestyle, took bronze in the event’s final on Wednesday in Rio, after losing to Australian up-and-comer Kyle Chalmers. 

USA’s Nathan Adrian, Defending Olympic Champion, Wins Bronze In 100M Freestyle

Adrian finished in 47.85 seconds. Chalmers took the lead in the last 50 and won in 47.58. Pieter Timmers of Belgium won silver.

Adrian’s time was 0.33 seconds slower at the London 2012 Games, where he won the gold medal by 0.01 seconds.

“I’m certainly happy to have another medal, happy to have two finals under my belt and come away with two medals so far,” Adrian said, referring to the gold that he won as part of the men’s 4×100 freestyle on Sunday night.

A three-time Olympian, Adrian, 27, now has five Olympic gold medals and six overall. The Bremerton, Washington native has now moved into the top 10 of most decorated Olympic swimmers.

The 100-meter freestyle is known for being one of the most challenging Olympic events. The last Olympian to defend the title was Pieter van den Hoogenband from the Netherlands, who won the race at the Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 Games.

Often-times, swimmers’ times (like they were on Wednesday) differ by merely hundredths of a second.

Swimming in Lane 4 in the middle of the pool in Wednesday’s final, Adrian claimed he has strong peripheral vision with his goggles, but “it’s not necessarily the wisest thing in the world to use it,” he said.

“If I had my choice, I would swim in Lane 1 or Lane 8 every time,” he added. “I’m a guy who likes to have clear water. In the middle of the pool there — you can’t really see it from the TV — but there’s a giant wave that hits you pretty hard. It’s hard. You just have to deal with it. You have to play the hand that you’re dealt.”

Despite not winning gold again this year, Adrian became the fifth U.S. man to win two medals in the 100 free.

He says a poor performance at the 2015 world championships gave him the motivation to get back into shape to even have a chance at defending his tittle. In the 100 free at the Kazan worlds, Adrian tied for last.

“Last year was a big wake up call,” he said. “I wasn’t in the shape I needed to be to break 48 [seconds] in the 100 and it showed. That was very clear to me. We had to make some changes.”

The 18-year-old Chalmers on Wednesday became the youngest man to win the event in 36 years, something which Adrian stated is more of a testament of the quality of the swimmers competing in the event.

“When you look on the page [start list], Pieter and I are the only ones born in the 80s, that’s a little weird,” Adrian said with a laugh. “I plan on continuing to swim, so we’ll probably see some guys coming up being born in 2000s soon.”

Adrian said he noticed Chalmers after he competed at Australian Olympic Trials this year and knew immediately he would be a strong competitor.

Adrian didn’t count out 19-year-old teammate Caeleb Dressel, either. Dressel is considered a future star in freestyle sprinting in the U.S., and he finished sixth in the 100 free in his first Olympics.

Asked if he was happy with his time in the 100 free, Adrian said no– “But I’m happy with a medal.”

The UC-Berkley swimmer will have two more opportunities to win medals in Rio. He competes in the men’s 50 free on Friday and the men’s 4×100 medley on Saturday.