BREMERTON, Wash. — In the 2012 Olympics, Bremerton native Nathan Adrian had his entire close family with him in London as he went on to win two gold medals and a silver.
“It was just incredible, it was an incredible race. To win it by the smallest of margins, it was just the swim of the meet,” his brother Justin told us from his Bremerton home.
Nathan Adrian could stand to add three more gold medals to his count in his three marquee events at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro: the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyle and the 4x100-meter free relay.
But this year, Adrian’s older brother Justin told us he and his wife will watch Nathan swim for the gold here in Western Washington.
“For security’s sake, we didn’t think it was safe to bring a family,” Justin told KIRO 7.
His wife Hillary is 20 weeks pregnant and the couple already has a 20-month-old.
The couple tells KIRO 7 the Zika virus and security concerns are keeping them home.
“It’s unfortunate from the cheering standpoint for Nathan, but it was an easy choice to stay home. He was really understanding,” Hillary Adrian said.
KIRO 7 spoke with Adrian’s mother over the phone. She and his father arrived in Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Olympics Thursday morning.
The younger couple will watch from their smartphones, and say they’ll likely spend a lot of time reliving Nathan’s races over and over again, as their mother has with past races.
“They watched it, they were there – she comes home and she’s watching again on the iPad and my dad says, ‘Cecilia, I can tell you how it ends!’” Justin Adrian laughed.
Cox Media Group
