The Cal 100: No. 95 -- Nathan Adrian

Freestyle sprinter won eight Olympic medals, now owns a swim school founded by Cal icon Ann Curtis

No. 95: Nathan Adrian

Cal Sports Connection: Adrian won 10 NCAA individual and relay titles for the Bears and sparked the 2011 national team title.

Claim to Fame: After claiming eight Olympic medals, five of them gold, Adrian has added to his legacy through co-ownership of a Bay Area swim school founded 64 years ago by former Cal great Ann Curtis.

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Nathan Adrian’s dreams of swimming in a fourth Olympics did not happen. After winning eight medals — five gold, one silver and two bronze — at the 2008 Games in Beijing, 2012 in London and 2016 in Rio, the former Cal star’s plans to return in 2020 in Tokyo were derailed when he was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2019 at the age of 30.

Nathan Adrian / Photo courtesy of Cal Athletics

“My competitive career taught me that there are some things you can’t control,” the freestyle sprinter told Marin Magazine in 2022. “I just got the short end of the stick on that one and had to deal with it, so that’s what we did.”

Adrian, who had surgery and was subsequently declared cancer free, has found a new passion. Married with a young daughter, he jumped into a business venture with fellow Cal swimming alum Will Copeland in 2019, purchasing a swim school in Marin County, north of San Francisco. But not just any swim school.

They took over the Ann Curtis School of Swimming in San Rafael, founded in 1959 by Curtis, the Cal graduate who won two gold medals and a silver at the 1948 Olympics. The school has taught more than 40,000 children how to swim, and maintaining — and extending — that legacy was important to Adrian.

“To be able to preserve this pool is really special because of its history and what Ann and her family created here,” said Adrian of the operation now called AC Swim Club. “I don’t think people truly understand how broad-reaching the school’s impact has been. . . . We’ve had many grandparents bring their grandchildren in and tell us they learned to swim from Ann. It’s a special place, and we take that reputation very seriously.”

In addition to winning 32 medals in major international competitions, Adrian was a star for Cal, collecting five individual-event NCAA titles — including three straight in the 100 freestyle — and five relay crowns, capping his college career by leading the Bears to the 2011 national team championship. 

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-- No. 96: Running back J.J. Arrington had a season for the ages.

Cover photo of former Cal swim star Nathan Adrian by Rob Schumacher, USA Today

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo