Here’s a great story on Port Orchard’s Willie Bloomquist, and
his wife Lisa, who give electronic toys to children at a local
Arizona hospital during the Christmas holiday.
Olympic champion Nathan Adrian of Bremerton pulled out of the
finals of the 50-yard freestyle Thursday at the Winter Nationals in
Austin, Texas.
Adrian jammed his right pinkie finger on a lane rope while
warming down after the morning preliminaries, according to a report
on swimswam.com.
“Sad news but I don’t want to hurt it any more!” Adrian wrote on
Twitter.
Adrian said the finger is not broken. Adrian told Swimming
World’s Jeff Commings that he was out of the rest of the meet.
Adrian had posted the fastest time of the day, and a meet
record, of 18.82 seconds and was the favorite to win the title and
possibly break his American record of 18.66.
Adrian, who won two golds and a silver medal at the London Games
this summer, was also scheduled to swim in Saturday’s 100
freestyle.
Bremerton’s Nathan Adrian, swimming competitively for the first
time since winning three medals at the London Olympics, set a
blistering pace in the 50-yard freestyle at the Winter Nationals
Thursday morning.
Adrian touched the wall in a meet record of 18.82 seconds. He is
the American-record holder in the event in 18.66, which he set in
the 2011 NCAA championships as a senior at California.
The Olympic gold medalist will be the No. 1 seed in the finals,
which can be seen via livestreaming at usaswimming.org, at 3 p.m.
local time.
Nathan Adrian shot to stardom overnight it seemed.
After winning two gold medals and a silver at the Olympic Games
in London, the Bremerton native seems to do nothing but live out of
a suitcase and imitate the Johnny Cash song, “I’ve been
everywhere.”
On Thanksgiving, he and Olympic teammate Peter Vanderkaay were
in the Detroit parade. That was after taking a quick trip to
Malaysia to shoot for the cover of the August Man fashion
magazine.
There’s video of Adrian on Uinterview that surfaced
this week from before London talking about the road to Rio in 2016,
nutrition, his training regimen and whether or not he’s single
(yes, he is).
This week he will be back in the water, competing for the first
time since London, at the Winter Nationals in Austin, Texas. Adrian
will swim Thursday in the prelims of the 50-yard freestyle. Adrian
will swim the 100 freestyle on Saturday as well. The meet will
be available via live-streaming at USASwimming.org. Prelims are
at 7 a.m. (local time) and finals are at 3 p.m.
It’s also the first time Adrian will be swimming yards since he
won the 50 and 100 free titles in 2011 at the NCAA championships as
a senior at California-Berkeley.
Olympic champion Nathan Adrian is among some of the top swimmers
in the country that will compete at the Winter National Short
Course championships in Austin, Texas, Thursday-Saturday.
Adrian, a Bremerton native, will be competing for the first time
since winning two gold medals and a silver at the London Olympics
in August. Adrian won the 100-meter freestyle to give the U.S. the
gold in that event for the first time since 1988.
Adrian will swim in the 50-yard freestyle Thursday and the 100
free on Saturday. He is the American-record holder in both
events. Adrian is seeded first in the 50 in 18.66 seconds and
first in the 100 in 41.10.
Also competing are fellow Olympians including Ryan Lochte, Missy
Franklin, Jessica Hardy, Allison Schmitt and Matt Grevers.
Preliminaries begin at 7 a.m. local time and 3 p.m. for the
finals. The meet will be shown on NBC on tape delay at 2 p.m.
Sunday.
Nathan’s new-found celebrity status has kept the soon-to-be
24-year-old plenty busy since the summer, with multiple guest
appearances on TV, photo shoots and appearances at New York’s
Fashion Week. He seems to have taken a shine to modeling, going as
far as Malaysia for a fashion shoot.
Nathan Adrian won three gold
medals at the London Olympics.
Bremerton gold medalist Nathan Adrian has joined with The
Salvation Army to support the organization’s Red Kettle
Campaign.
The Salvation Army said Thursday the four-time Olympic champion
will be making online and in-person appearances through the holiday
season.
“I was first introduced to The Salvation Army thanks to my
parents, who have been involved with them for a number of years in
my hometown,” Adrian said in a press release, “and I am honored to
support an organization that is committed to helping people who are
in need.”
Adrian’s father, Jim Adrian, and mother, Cecilia, have supported
the Bremerton Salvation Army for many years. Jim Adrian was
recently elected as Chairman of the Advisory Board for the
Salvation Army in Bremerton.
Nathan Adrian will take part in a Q & A with The Salvation Army,
which will be posted on the organization’s website, blog.SalvationArmyUSA.org; he will serve as honorary
chairman for the organization’s World Record Bell-Ringing contest;
and support the organization’s Rock the Red Kettle Concert in Los
Angeles.
“Nathan is a true American champion, not just on the podium, but
in the hearts and minds of young people who look up to him for
inspiration,” said Major George Hood, National Community Relations
and Development Secretary for The Salvation Army.
Bremerton’s Nathan Adrian has been nominated for three 2012
Golden Goggles awards.
The Golden Goggles are USA Swimming’s equivalent for the
Emmy’s.
Adrian was nominated for the male athlete of the year, along
with Ryan Lochte, Michael Phelps and Matt Grevers, as well as race
of the year for his performance in the 100-yard freestyle and the
400 medley relay. Adrian beat favorite James Magnussen of Australia
by .001 seconds.
The awards are Nov. 19 at the Marquis Marriott Hotel in New
York. Adrian also won gold in the 400 medley relay and a silver in
the 400 free relay.