Nathan Adrian

Nathan Adrian Jumping of the diving block. (Gettyimages.com)

There are very few elite professional athletes in the Olympic sport of swimming, and Nathan Adrian happens to be one of those very few. He is best known for events like the 100 and 50-meter freestyle and has won gold medals in both. Besides individual events, he has also contributed greatly to memorable events like the 400 medley relay at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. I first found out about Nathan Adrian after I had discovered some of the other big stars in swimming like Michael Phelps through social media and friends. At the time, I was about 10 years old, already 2 years into my competitive swimming career. Being a young swimmer and wanting to make it to the Olympics someday, I wanted to learn the stats and records of specific professional swimmers, so I could set my own goals and achievements. Not only does Nathan Adrian have the physical height and build I would like to work towards, but he seems to be a very humble, down-to-earth athlete, and is very kind and generous to others. I am currently a 14-year-old freshman in high school where I swim for the varsity team, and certainly have big plans for the future. My first interest in swimming was thanks to a swim school that my parents and grandparents had put me in as a child. With no intentions of wanting to swim, my first love for the sport was sparked for the sport, even if I hadn't realized it yet. From there, things just kept progressing, and I have been club swimming for about 8 years now. Currently, my number one goal is to make it to the Olympics and win a gold medal. Realizing this is going to be hard, I have set myself numerous easier to obtain goals to work towards on my way to the big leagues.

While becoming a professional athlete is the dream of many children and teenagers, it's a very difficult dream to fulfill, and only a small group of people have what it actually takes. When it comes to being a professional swimmer, very few can have the security of good pay and a steady career, and only the exceptional can make a living out of a sport like swimming. Some of the tasks common to most sports include constant practice to help improve already developed skills. Also, athletes must maintain their own personal health by following a specialized diet/meal plan in order to be able to perform their best. Most importantly, athletes must assess their individual and team performances after every meet or event with the help of their coach(s), and determine what they did right and wrong and how they can improve. As stated on the Occupational Outlook handbook website, "No formal educational credential is required to become an athlete or sports competitor. However, athletes must have superior athletic talent and immense knowledge of their sport, which they usually get through years of practice and experience at lower levels of competition." Therefore, since most aspiring athletes don't have what it takes to make a living in their sport, each of them should have an academic interest of some sort. It's always great to have something to fall back on, just in case a person's number one goal doesn't turn out as planned. To become an athlete of any kind, training, mental and physical drive, and usually more than a basic skill set are required. It takes years and countless hours of training for any athlete to be successful. While most think that salary is often never a problem for most professional athletes, their earnings are directly related to their ongoing performance, neither of which are guaranteed. The OOH again states that, the annual wage for most athletes and sports competitors was about $40,000 in the year of 2014. In that same year, the lowest 10 percent earned less than $20,000, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $180,000. These statistics show the range of salary that athletes can make, depending on how talented they are and the success there are able to achieve. As you can see, salary really depends on how hard you work, how dedicated you are to that sport, and how determined you are to succeed. While being a paid athlete might not be a possible option for everyone, there are a number of related careers within the profession that may be more accessible. For example, fitness trainers and instructors help maintain an athlete's fitness, and coaches help an athlete to preform to their fullest potential.

Adrian holding up his gold medal.

You may ask, how did Adrian become interested in swimming? Interestingly enough, he immediately took to the sport being greatly influenced by his older siblings, who were also great swimmers. Unlike Adrian, his older brother and sister were only able to excel at the collegiate level. In order to be as successful as someone like Nathan Adrian, you have to be determined and have the will to succeed. Without a doubt, these were traits that Adrian embodied in his early childhood, and traits he hasn't lost. Adrian was a natural at swimming from an early age as all his high school and college accomplishments attest. After his biggest achievement in high school (setting the state record in the 200-meter freestyle) he continued to excel greatly in college. Adrian was both smart and talented enough to earn a spot at the University of California, Berkley in 2006. Amazingly, just two years into his college career, Adrian qualified for his first Olympic games (2008) that took place in Beijing. There, he was able to earn his first gold medal as part of the 400-meter freestyle relay, which also set a world record for the event at that time. His continued success throughout college included NCAA Championships and setting a remarkable number of records. "In the article, 'Nathan Adrian Biography,' on the biography.com website, the website editors state, In the summer of 2012, Adrian qualified, in part, for the 2012 Olympic team by finishing first in the 100-meter freestyle. A few days later, he won gold in the 100-meter freestyle, setting a new personal record (47.52 seconds)." This shows the continued success that Nathan Adrian has had throughout his career, and that hard work pays off. To this day he continues to train and work hard, and I'm sure hopes to secure a spot in the 2016 Olympic Games.

Besides being the superstar athlete he is with many medals, records and other accomplishments, has Adrian made the world a better place outside his sport? One of the biggest things he has done so far for the society is to have become part of the USA Swimming Foundation program, Make A Splash. The USA Swimming website explained in 2010 that it, "raises funds to support programs that save lives and build champions in the pool and in life." The foundation's main objective is to raise awareness of the importance of water safety and to teach children how to swim. Adrian and many others have become ambassadors for this foundation, in hope of saving lives by teaching children how to swim and educating them and their families about the importance of water safety. "The Asian Hall of Fame, an initiative of The Robert Chinn Foundation stated that it honors distinguished individuals of Asian Pacific descent whose personal achievements have contributed to the American experience." This includes Adrian, as he was inducted in 2014. With Adrian's additional affiliations with organizations like Kids Beating Cancer, and Right to Play he is helping to make the world a better place, one step at a time.

Nathan Adrian was a great student in high school and college, and I plan to follow in his footsteps. I am currently a freshman at Capistrano Valley High School in Mission Viejo, California and enrolled in the ATMS (Advanced Technology, Math, and Science) program. In this program I will take advanced honor classes which include math, science, and English. It is a very challenging program, and I often struggle with the workload, being that all the classes are advanced. However, I know in the long run it will pay off, especially because the competition to get into top colleges seems to get more competitive as time goes on. As far as my swim career goes, I swim both for my high school team, along with a separate club team. I continue to work hard and do my best to stay determined. I plan to get into one of the following colleges, University of Texas, UC Berkley, USC, or UCLA. While my top priority is swimming, I do have two other professions in mind, even thought I haven't narrowed it down to one job. I would like to a pediatrician or an architectural engineer. I know that it will take a lot of hard work and time to get to either one of these jobs, which is where the ATMS program will help me. Obviously, as a lifetime goal I hope to swim in the Olympics one day. Nathan Adrian greatly inspires me, seeing all the success he has had and is currently a two time Olympian. In order to get there, he had the drive, determination, and will to succeed. While I haven't yet had quite the same success, I will continue to work on my weaknesses, and make myself stronger both mentally and physically. Although Adrian is world renown for his swimming capabilities and has achieved many things, before any of this, he started with a dream and an inspiration. While he was blessed with this talent of swimming, I believe he still worked really hard to get to where he is, and I plan to do the same. You're going to hit some bumps in the road and do things you'll later regret, but the best thing you can do is learn from your mistakes and use them to make you better.