Aug 1, 2014 - Leaning back in a lounge chair outside of the Sky Gym,. Olympic gold medalist Nathan Adrian is unknowingly
Vol. 102 No. 08 Aug 2014
| SPORTS SWIMMING
one-on-one
with olympians nathan adrian &tony ervin
By Kelly Hook // Photos Gene Choi
Leaning back in a lounge chair outside of the Sky Gym, Olympic gold medalist Nathan Adrian is unknowingly weaving an inspiring tale of determination and resolve. At only 25, he’s already amassed seventeen medals in major international swimming competitions: twelve gold, three silver, and two bronze medals representing the Olympics, the World, and the Pan Pacific Championships. Not to mention he graduated with honors from Berkeley in 2012 and is now training for the 2016 Olympics. “My first time at the Olympics was 2008 and I was 19,” Adrian recalls. “I was wide-eyed, just a child amongst men. That feeling of awe never leaves you. It snuck up on me in 2013 when I realized I’m now one of the veterans but still feel just as nervous and awestruck to be here.” Adrian seems quietly super-human, lounging casually for a 6’6” Olympian in a smartly tailored suit, having just returned from his final Olympic Club membership interview. “In training at this level, there’s no sense of instant gratification. You have to put in for months before you can show that it has paid off,” he says. “Success means putting a real challenge in front of yourself and conquering it. That’s a greater sense of satisfaction than any medal.”
I was wide-eyed, just a child amongst men. That feeling of awe never leaves you. 25 | THE OLYMPIC CLUB AU G U S T 2014
NATHAN ADRIAN
Since his first Olympic debut at the age of 19, Adrian has been perfecting a strict diet and exercise regimen to maximize his performance. “I find that the regimen is when I see the most improvement in myself. When I’m really in a good training groove, have good sleeping and eating habits, that’s when I see serious gains.” He shifts a little in his chair, as if realizing that taking time for this interview is a deviation from his routine. A fellow Olympic Club member has just begun doing lunges on the Sky deck and Adrian diverts his eyes to the cityscape, making his recollections seem rather nostalgic. “Traveling is a great opportunity. We’re
always experiencing different countries, or at least their pools. My favorite being the outdoor one next to the stadium in Barcelona.” He’s careful not to forget about his great travel companions as well, the other members of the U.S. Olympic team, whom he considers as close as family. Mentioning one in particular, “my slightly-older, free-spirited brother would be Tony Ervin.” Adrian aptly describes himself as the rule-abiding younger child who occasionally enjoys pushing the buttons of some of his older “siblings” like Ervin. “Tony is the only swimmer I’ve ever heard of competing and performing at the level he can and basically doing it his own way. I tend to follow everything the coaches tell me and Tony operates with a lot more freedom. Yet, his times are getting faster and faster every year.” He laughs and shakes his head. “He’s like a Formula One car; only he knows how to perform at his peak, so he’s going to do it that way.” Only a few days prior, Tony Ervin was sitting in a white V-neck t-shirt and newsboy cap, discussing this same topic. “Nathan is the now and the future,” he said. “We train together every day, which is the best opportunity for me since he’s operating on another level. He’s the Olympic champion and, if I’m training with him, what’s the rest of the world going to have on me?” Ervin also radiates a larger-than-life presence, unofficially known as "Olympian Aura," but his route to achieving this was vastly different than Adrian’s. Ervin also won his first Olympic gold medal at 19 – it was for the 50 free at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. He went on to win two world titles the following year in Japan. But at 22, he abruptly retired from the sport, opting to experience life outside his swimming routine. He sold his gold medal to support tsunami victims and began a nine-year saga of rock n’ roll bands, fast motorcycles, new cities, record stores, and tattoo shops. You can see the mark of this journey running down his fully tattooed arms. By the time Ervin found himself back on the U.S. Olympic team and on his way to the 2012 games, he felt reborn, drawing from a new sense of clarity and drive. In an interview with Rolling Stone in 2012, Ervin stated that “my twenties were about experiencing and letting the cup overflow in a sensual sense – I feel I've been saturated with that. Now I'm trying to build and create…I just feel identity. Swimming now is me trying to reclaim what I didn't have when I was younger, the ethic and the love for it."
It also feels great to rock a big Wingèd O across my chest. TONY ERVIN
| SPORTS SWIMMING A voracious reader, Ervin highlights The Odyssey as one of his all-time favorites, currently reading it for the fourth time. This seems fitting, considering the trials and tribulations Odysseus faced before returning home, wiser for the experience. He’s also reading The Contrarian’s Guide to Leadership, which illuminates the unconventional (and, some might say, Machiavellian) leadership methods of former USC President Steven B. Sample.
Wake up at 5:00am
Spend a couple of hours in the pool Eat a more substantial breakfast Try to take a nap. Get up and go to the gym for weight lifting Head back to the pool Stretch, recover, and take in nutrition Read a book in the evening
Day in the life: TONY ERVIN
Have a light breakfast with coffee
Bed
As a Masters student in the Education department at Berkeley, concentrating on Anthropology, Ervin’s constantly evaluating how he can improve as a human, in and out of the pool. “What am I doing to get better? What is nobody else doing? What does it mean to be a better Olympian?” He sees training for the 2016 Olympics as a year-by-year endeavor. “We have a workman’s review every summer where we determine if we can keep our job on the national team. I’m up for review again and, if I prove myself worthy, I’ll fly to Australia for the Pan Pacific games. Next year the World Championships are in Russia, and then it’s all about what you can do in two years to get ready for the Olympics. I don’t even know what it’s going to take.“ Part of this Olympic preparation for both Ervin and Adrian involves training at The Olympic Club and swimming on the men’s team. In May, they both competed in the Masters Nationals. “A good majority of The Olympic Club team are people I swam with in college,” Ervin cheerfully remembers his first time swimming with the OC team at Masters Nationals. “Scott Greenwood was the captain of our team when I was a sophomore, and Trent Holsman lived next to me in the dorm. I saw coaches that taught me to swim and the whole thing was an amazing reunion. It also feels great to rock a big Winged O across my chest.”
Day in the life: NATHAN ADRIAN
Wake up at 5:10am Have some oatmeal with flax seed and fruit Arrive at the pool by 5:45am. Swim until 7:45am Go home and make breakfast: usually three eggs, toast, and an avocado Take a nap Wake back up and eat a sandwich Head to official practice for weightlifting and more swimming Eat again At home, check email and make phone calls Eat dinner Go to bed
Adrian has also rekindled old friendships. “Scott Greenwood proposed the idea of us joining and becoming members of the Club. It’s great because you graduate from Cal and you think you’ll never get to swim with them again,” he says. “Then, just a couple years later, here you are swimming with them on a relay team. At Masters Nationals, there were four people from my Cal team on my relay. Not to mention [Nationals] was in Santa Clara, our backyard pool,” he smiles. “My best friends are part of the team. I never thought I‘d be part of that team again.” Both Adrian and Ervin exude humility and awareness about what has brought them this far. As Adrian noted, “the real satisfaction is knowing you put a challenge out there for yourself and accomplished it.” Ervin added, “we have to pursue ourselves to the best of our abilities, challenging self-imposed limits and always remembering the people who’ve helped us to exceed those limits.”
Attn: Postmaster Periodicals
