Announcing the disheartening news, the 30-year-old swimmer promises to 'be back in the water in a few short weeks,' aiming to compete in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
- January 25, 2019
AceShowbiz - Nathan Adrian is battling testicular cancer. The five-time gold medalist broke the news to his social media followers on Thursday, January 24.
"Life, like swimming the 100 free, can come at you hard and fast as you can't always see who, or what, may be chasing you down," he begin, explaining that he learned about the cancer when visiting his doctor as "something didn't seem quite right."
Despite the disheartening news, Nathan remained positive since he and the doctors "caught it early." He was also optimistic about his prognosis and vowed to "be back in the water in a few short weeks," aiming to compete in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Nathan also hoped that his journey to recovery would "help break the sigma of discussing men's health issues."
"I've realized that too often we tend to avoid these important topics, ignore the potential warning signs, and put off getting the medical help that we may need," the 30-year-old swimmer continued. "As I told my family, I'll be putting my public health degree to work a little sooner than I planned!"
Concluding his post, Nathan wrote, "But in all seriousness, I am keeping a positive attitude as cases such as mine are curable. I am extremely grateful for my family and friends, especially my wife [Hallie], for their love and support. I am scheduled for surgery early next week and will provide an update soon."
— Nathan Adrian (@Nathangadrian) 24 Januari 2019
Nathan is one of the most successful sprint freestyle swimmers in the U.S., having won five Olympic gold medals including two in the 4x100 meter freestyle.
