Nathan Adrian wins 100 free and finished 2nd in 50 free at Nationals, heads to Worlds

California Golden Bears alum Nathan Adrian continues to prove his swimming acumen at 28 years old. Adrian beat out a host of much younger Americans to win the 100 meter for his 14th national long-course freestyle title.

Adrian won the 100 free at the Phillips 66 National Championships, edging out Caleb Dressel at 47.96 seconds to 47.97.

“I feel good-ish,” said Adrian, when asked about the fast time. “I love looking up on the board and seeing a 47.”

He’s equally happy about the men’s team right now. When told it was the first time that two men have gone under 48 seconds in the 100 free at a U.S. championships, Adrian replied, “That’s what’s up! Let’s go. Team USA, man!”

Adrian finished second in the men’s 50 free with a time of 21.87, right behind Caleb Dressel. He qualifies for the US National Team for both events in the World Championships.

Here’s a good feature on Adrian from KING5.com:

“It’s Team USA. We’re really deep,” Adrian said via phone from the Bay Area where he lives and trains at Cal-Berkeley. “We’ve got to be ready to go.”

He said swimmers in other countries “don’t understand the kind of pressure we’re under each and every year just to qualify.”

The national meet this year serves as the selection criteria for the upcoming FINA World Swimming Championships in Budapest, Hungary, July 23-30.

Adrian said the national meets have a different feel now, partly because he’s a veteran and not a wide-eyed rookie. Adrian and his coaching team at Cal — Dave Durden and Yuri Suguiyama — are ready for nationals.