Nathan Adrian of Bremerton won his sixth 50-meter freestyle national title on Thursday at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way.
On the first night of the U.S. Winter Nationals, Adrian was just one of several Olympic champions who competed. Michael Phelps, Allison Schmitt, Conor Dwyer and Maya DiRado all pocketed gold medals.
You can check out what Phelps had to say about his race from the press conference here. He and coach Bob Bowman ate every lunch and dinner at Mitzel’s Restaurant in Kent when they were here 15 years ago.
“Bob and I pretty much had the same meal everyday,” he said. “It was meatloaf, green beans, carrots, mashed potatoes, gravy and a bowl of clam chowder. Had the same thing yesterday (Wednesday). It’s still just the same, it’s just as good.
“I was talking to some of the waitresses there and they were saying that it’s the last one. They expanded and came down to their last one and they went back to their roots of real, genuine home-cooking. That’s what I remembered most from going there and it was literally exactly the same meal that I had 15 years ago. It was very, very good. And then desserts are amazing.”
The pool holds a special place in Phelps’ heart as this is where his life changed when he broke 2 minutes in the 200 fly and his legacy as the greatest swimmer of all time was sealed. Six months after that, he made his first Olympic team.
“Bob and I relived some memories by going to Mitzel’s,” he said. “It was kind of here where it started. That’s when everything kind of took off … I’ve enjoyed this pool.”
