Cancer-survivor Olympic champion Nathan Adrian returns to pool

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Five-time Olympic champion and prolific U.S. swimmer Nathan Adrian has returned to the pool after valiantly fighting against cancer. Competing for the first time since he was diagnosed with testicular cancer, Adrian finished fourth in the 100m freestyle on Friday at the Tyr Pro Series in Bloomington, Indiana.

The 100m freestyle gold medalist at the 2012 London Games, who also won four Olympic relay gold medals, clocked 49.31 seconds to finish 55-hundredths behind eventual winner Zach Apple.

The 30-year-old former teammate of legendary Michael Phelps had announced in January that he had been battling the deadly disease and said that it was caught early while his prognosis was good.

In a recent media interview, he mentioned, "It's a good feeling."

(L-R) Brendan Hansen, Matthew Grevers, Michael Phelps and Nathan Adrian of the U.S. win the Men's 4x100m Medley Relay Final of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Aquatics Centre in London, England, August 4, 2012. /VCG Photo

"It's tough to describe, right? This is home for me. Honestly, I've never been to Bloomington, but this environment – that's what feels right," he added.

Adrian is eyeing competing in the 4x100m freestyle relay at the upcoming world championships in Gwangju, South Korea, scheduled to be held in July. He has also qualified to race individually at the Pan American Games in Lima the following week.

However, the ace swimmer has already set his target to qualify to swim on a fourth U.S. Olympic team at the 2020 Tokyo Games.

"You get something like an adverse health diagnosis, everything kind of stops," he was quoted after undergoing two surgeries.

"Fortunately, we're through that for now, and I get to do what I can to get back on track."