A Gamble Appears Ready to Pay Off

ISLAMORADA, Fla. -- In the beginning, this was rather difficult to digest for Nathan Adrian's father, a nuclear engineer, and mother, a nurse. Their son wanted to give up his swim scholarship to the University of California at Berkeley (about a $43,000 annual value), put his pre-med studies on hold and relocate to the Florida Keys -- 3,000 miles away from his home town of Bremerton, Wash. -- to train for the Summer Olympics.

"It scared the daylights out of me," said Nathan's father, Jim. "We had a lot of concerns."

Said his mother, Cecilia, "We did not really think the Olympics were that close for him at that point."

They think differently today. Adrian, 19, has been one of the most promising U.S. stars to emerge since he made the cross-country move last summer. He first turned heads with a surprising victory in the 100-meter freestyle from an outside lane at the April short-course world championships in Manchester, England. There, he also swam a leg for the 4x100 relay team that set a world record.

And less than 10 days ago, Adrian earned first place in the 50 free at the Mutual of Omaha Swimvitational in Omaha, topping training mate Gary Hall Jr., who has won gold in the 50 free in the past two Olympics. Adrian also took a silver in the 100.

"Nathan is the next franchise, there's no doubt about it," Hall said. "He is a superstar. . . . The guy, every time he swims, he gets faster."

Whether he will be fast enough to make the U.S. team at the Olympic trials, which begin June 28 in Omaha, is the question. Only the top two in each discipline will get tickets to Beijing.

When former Cal coach Mike Bottom decided to accept the head coaching position at the Race Club, an international group of professional swimmers who had decamped to the Middle Keys, Adrian wrangled with the idea of joining him and finally, with his parents' blessing, decided to go. He soon realized he had traded one kind of education for another. He has stabbed his own dinner on many occasions, going on weekly spearfishing outings with Hall and other members of the group. Best of all, he's gotten faster.

"This has been a dream come true," Adrian said. "It's been like a year-long training camp. I don't have to worry about anything but training."

Adrian, who plans to return to Cal next year, has added incentive to win an Olympic spot. His mother, who was raised in Hong Kong, is Cantonese. As a youth swimmer, he earned the nickname "Bok Choy" because of his Chinese heritage.

If he makes the team, his mother will for the first time travel to her homeland.

"We were here with a purpose from Day One," Adrian said. "This was all about the Olympic trials and the Olympics."

-- Amy Shipley