American Olympic champion Nathan Adrian may not be racing in a pool anymore but the 36-year-old father of two is still competing.
As we reported, Adrian is among the cast participating in the third season of FOX’s reality show Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test which began on January 8th.
Adrian is among 16 celebrity recruits taking on tests actual recruits face during the famously difficult U.S. Special Forces selection process, led by a team of ex-special forces operatives.
Other contestants this season include actors Denise Richards and Stephen Baldwin, track star Marion Jones as well as former NFL MVP quarterback Cam Newton.
Adrian got a taste of Newton’s competitive medicine this week as the two sparred in a brutal fists-on bout which resulted in the former Cal Bear’s nose being visibly bloodied. Show medical staff determined Adrian needed to be medically withdrawn from the course, ending his run on the series.
Unlike many reality competition series, there are no designated elimination points, contestants withdraw either voluntarily or medically. Only five contestants—Hannah Brown, Carli Lloyd, Tyler Cameron, Erin Jackson, and Nick Viall—passed the test through two seasons and thirty contestants.
They got Cam Newton jumping on helicopters and whooping ass. Dude need his own action movie 😂 pic.twitter.com/8UuU7pLe5W
— The 4 Man Rush (@4ourmanrush) January 16, 2025
Put this fight in a pool and Cam doesn’t stand a chance. Swimmers are lovers, not fighters anyway.
Who wins if we put the fight on the moon?
nathan out here doing side quests now lol
That’s something I didn’t expect to hear this year, I didn’t even know Adrian or Newton were doing this show
At least cam didn’t punch him in the testicles yk
What are the rules. Why are they in a field by a cliff. Why are thy tripping over equipment on the floor.
Coleman, can we please get a podcast interview of Adrian about Special Forces?
Not being sarcastic. I love this show.
I echo this request to Coleman.
Coming up!
I’d have run in the opposite direction immediately. Pool swimmers are not made for this 😀
They should have asked a water polo player or an open water swimmer to be on the show instead.
Larsen Jensen would disagree.
Yes… but he did have actual training. He wasn’t just thrown in there to fight some football guy, who gets thrashed around for a living.
Truth. Swimmers rarely have any land skills.
I’d have bet with 95% odds that Cam would win that. He spent his career getting hit hard by guys weighing 250-350 pounds, and was an explosive runner who wasn’t afraid of contact. Nathan, not so much. Though he has a killer smile.
He doesn’t mind contact as long as it doesn’t mean diving on footballs.