The Morning Swim Show, Sept. 4, 2012: Nathan Adrian’s Risky Trials Gamble Yielded Gold in London


PHOENIX, Arizona, September 4. NATHAN Adrian and his coach Dave Durden took a calculated risk to not fully taper for the Olympic Trials, but it paid off with three medals in London, and on today's edition of The Morning Swim Show Adrian talks about the strategy of peaking at the right moment.

Adrian relives the experience of winning the gold medal, racing next to James Magnussen and what the medal means for him at this moment. He is careful to not rest on his laurels too much, and talks about what his outlook for the next season will be, and whether his accomplishments in London will have an effect on how he performs in the future. Be sure to visit SwimmingWorld.TV for more video interviews.

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Morning Swim Show Transcripts
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(Note: This is an automated service where some typos and grammatical errors may occur.)

Jeff Commings: Welcome to the Morning Swim Show for Tuesday, September 4th, 2012. I am your host Jeff Commings and today in the FINIS Monitor we are happy to have with us Nathan Adrian, who won two gold medals and one silver medal at the 2012 Olympics. One of those gold medals came in the 100 freestyle, which he won by one 100th of a second, and Nathan joins us right now from his home in Berkeley. Nathan good to have you on the show again, how are you doing?

Nathan Adrian: Hey, I am doing great.

Jeff: So last time we had you on the show was before Trials and here you are a 2-time Olympic Gold medalist. I mean back in April, I mean was there– did you really believe that this could happen?

Nathan: You know what I don't necessarily know what I did back in April. I knew that I was– I had some goals in my mind and I knew that I was going to move through these meets trying to be you know the best swimmer that I can be and that I couldn't control anybody else and I just kind of moved through it thinking with that mindset.

Jeff: Well it certainly has worked for you like I said you're an Olympic gold medalist and you know you have been all over the country since you have got back from London. I mean we have seen you on Today's Show. You went on Jay Leno. You are a pretty popular guy, you know you got to– I guess you got to start getting to the fact that this is what comes with winning a gold medal.

Nathan: You know that is all right. It is not bad burden to bear. I mean it has been quite the ride. I don't even know you know what my schedule is coming next week but I kind of just take it for what it is and just enjoy this you know point in time as much as I can.

Jeff: Well, only if we could keep this momentum going for the non-Olympic years.

Nathan: I try. I am trying my hardest.

Jeff: Have you got any suggestions about what could be done to kind of keep this exposure going and keep swimming popular in the general media?

Nathan: Shoot, I don't know. Convince Michael to keep swimming I guess would be one of them.

Jeff: Well you are not the only one that is convincing him. So let's talk about that 100 freestyle in London. 47.52. Dropped 5/10ths of a second off your previous best time before the meet. Now before we talk about the race I mean do you read pre-race predictions at all? Did you know kind of where people have been putting you before this race?

Nathan: No, I knew that I wasn't first, but you know I really can't, I can't spend in my energy on that stuff because again it is trying to look at things that you can't control like what your opponents are going to do. So I really have to focus on what is at hand and I try to relax and enjoy my time with my teammates as much as possible rather than worrying about my races.

Jeff: So you went 47.8 I believe leading off the 400 freestyle relay, your first time under 48 in textile. I imagine that kind of boosted your confidence leading into the 100?

Nathan: Absolutely. You know it meant a lot to actually you know go at best time that was like the first best time since we did have suits so that was really important to me knowing that I can kind of break through that barrier and then you know from there on it was just how far down I could go.

Jeff: Were there any nerves swimming next to James Magnussen not only in the relay but in that 100 freestyle final?

Nathan: You know, no matter who you swim next to there is going to be a sense of nerves. I would, I prefer it that way being next to the guy that you know I am going to be racing. I like to know where I am at and know where I need to be. You know at something like the 50 or even the 75 and know that I am comfortable with my race plan.

Jeff: Well looking back to Trials, you know everybody was saying your 100 was pretty good but you know everybody had actually expected more out of you in the 50, which you didn't qualify for the Olympics and from what I understand you didn't fully taper for trials is that correct?

Nathan: It is not a– you know a lot of people think of taper as kind of like a binary thing like you know I am tapered here, I am not and you know our journey was kind of you know on the way down to peak as the Olympics and you know trials kind of came at this point in time where I needed to be fast enough to qualify for the Olympics but still have a little bit left to go a little bit faster and you know unfortunately I missed the 50 by a little bit, but in hindsight it ended up okay

.Jeff: Yeah, I mean I was thinking when I read that. I was like that is a pretty risky gamble knowing how tough the field is in the United States not only in the 50 but in the 100. I mean you never know what could happen. I mean were you — I guess you were probably relieved knowing that you made the team in the 100 and just thinking you know there is so much more that I could do in this event.

Nathan: Yeah, you know it was nice because going into you know going into the training camp of you know just kind of felt like I had so much more and my body was really good and stronger and getting faster you know I was floating a little higher in the water moving through those camps so it was one of the most confident that I have ever been in myself moving through something like a taper and knowing that I am going to go faster. Because you know it is hard for any swimmer to maintain confidence and knowing that they are getting faster through the rest period.

Jeff: Well you are definitely a veteran of the 100 freestyle, I think you had previously said in the 100 long course free is one of your favorite events. What do you think enabled you to not only go 47.5 but to win the gold medal?

Nathan: You know there is a lot of things, there is a lot of people that I haven't properly thanked that have helped me on my road there too, but you know to pin it down I really do think a lot of our success from you know our team, you know team U.S.A., everybody coming together and fitting the mold and their respective members know their places as teammates and that was really important and I don't think a lot of people understand how much they helped us on our road

.Jeff: So you got your gold medal with you?

Nathan: I do, I do, I have it here in my lap.

Jeff: Very nice, very nice. I am sure you have been holding it and looking at it every once in awhile. What goes through your mind when you look at that medal?

Nathan: You know, it is tough not to sit here and dwell on it. I mean even as I am doing this I kind of find myself looking down in my own mind, how beautiful it is, but you know when it comes to it at the end of the day it is going to be locked up in a safe and I am going to you know not take it out unless I need to. There is no time for dwelling on my respective accomplishments that have occurred so far. It is all about moving forward and trying to improve yourself and trying to you know get back in the water and go even faster.

Jeff: So is it pretty much going for I think, you know it doesn't matter that I won you know the Olympics in the 100 free especially when you know let's just assume that you will make the team and go to World Championships next year?

Nathan: Yeah knock on wood. Yeah, absolutely it is all about self improvement and trying to just you know restart. There is no point in sitting here and thinking or becoming complacent with what you have done if you are going to continue your career.

Jeff: Well, you dropped 5/10ths from your best time to win the gold medal. You only got 6/10th's more to get that world record.

Nathan: Well, 5/10's is a long time coming but I haven't gotten my best in awhile so you know this year I am really looking forward to not having school to worry about. I can probably take advantage of you know having a lot more rest, a lot more time to nap and a lot more time to recover and you know spend on you know cooking food or eating healthy and I think that will make a big difference in my training this year.

Jeff: Yeah, I read a Tweet of yours that say it feels weird to not be in school this semester. Have you kind of thought that maybe you will go back and maybe get a Masters degree or are you all completely done with school?

Nathan: Right now I am completely done, but I do know how I get after about 6 months of not being in school. I just kind of get anxious about not continuing my education and whether or not it will be some are sort of you know formal education in a form of a Master's degree or getting some sort of certificate in something I don't know, but I will be you know continuing somehow and keeping my mind simulated outside of swimming.

Jeff: Well I think one of the things that you got to definitely focus on is the Nathan Adrian brand which has kind of created itself after you touched the wall in London. I mean you are on Jay Leno and you know our video we did with you about 'Are You Smarter with Nathan Adrian' just kind of took off after you won. I mean you are now kind of a household name. Do you see yourself that way?

Nathan: No, absolutely not. I just kind of go about it as I would you know had I not won the gold medal. I mean anytime that something like this goes to your head I think it can maybe change you a little bit and I am really happy with who I am as a person right now and just want to continue that, so if one or two more people recognize me on the street and want to take a picture I am absolutely happy to do that, but besides that I don't feel any different.

Jeff: So when you get back in the water which I imagine will be soon, it is going to be pretty much business as usual?

Nathan: Yes, yes. It is going to be you know working with Dave to figure what I can tweak to make me feel a little bit faster and we move through a couple more seasons hopefully doing that.

Jeff: Well, before we go I want to talk about this article I saw in the San Francisco newspaper about your house out there in California which you call the Mansh you know you shared with four other guys. Is that where you at right now?

Nathan: That is, I am in the master bedroom right now.

Jeff: So you know with all the financial gain that you got from winning these medals at the Olympics is there any thought about maybe buying this house now that you are renting?

Nathan: No. There is still probably ways away from that. I mean it is the Bay Area. It is quite expensive to live up here but you know I am just very thankful that I can live and continue this lifestyle that I have given myself and that all contributes to you know a successful training season too just a comfort of knowing that I can put food on the table for myself.

Jeff: Well food for not just yourself but probably the whole Berkley team I imagine. I am sure some of those underclassmen would greatly appreciate it.

Nathan: Yeah, but they are in classes so maybe they can swipe me in the dining hall as an exchange.

Jeff: I think they will let you in on you know, just show your gold medal. I think you don't have any problem getting in there. Well, Nathan it has been good talking to you, congratulations on all the success in London and, like everybody else we are looking forward to seeing what the next big thing is for you.

Nathan: Thank you. Thanks for having me on guys.

Jeff: Absolutely. All right so that is Nathan Adrian joining us from his home in Berkeley and that is going to do it for today's Morning Swim Show. We invite you as always to follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Thanks for watching and we will see you next time.

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