Nathan Adrian came back from a late night to win his heat in the 50 meter freestyle Friday morning.
After qualifying for his third Olympics Thursday night, winning the 100 free and giving himself a shot at defending his 2012 gold medal, Adrian touched the wall in 21.96 — good enough for fourth place. He is the American record holder in the event in 21.37.
The semifinals begin at 5 p.m. local and can be seen at nbcolympics.com or on tape delay at NBC at 8 p.m.
