Nathan Adrian did not have a particularly strong Olympic trials, but he is putting up his best races early on in the 2012 Olympic games. He swam a great opening leg of the 4 x 100 meter relay to give the United States a lead that should've been enough for them to win.
He went into his signature event in the 100 meter as a bit of an underdog, but he proved he belonged just as much as anyone else. Adrian led at the turn, then vaulted toward the finish and ended up with the fastest overall time at 48.19 seconds. Adrian figures to be involved in a tight race with names like Gideon Louw of South Africa, Sebastiaan Verschuren of the Netherlands and James Magnussen of Australia, but he's in good shape after his first race.
Cullen Jones of the United States also put up a strong swim, particularly in his 50 split. Jones finished 4th in the prelims. Graeme Moore of South Africa and Dominik Meichtry of Switzerland did not qualify for the semifinals with their opening time.
Talk about Adrian with Cal fans by heading on over to the California Golden Blogs.