“Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp /
Or what’s a heaven for?” — “Andrea del Sarto,” by Robert Browning

Two Olympic gold medals and two bronzes in Rio. Eight career Olympic medals, five of them gold. Nine long-course world championship medals, five of them gold. Three short-course world championship medals, two of them gold.  Eight medals, five of them gold, in the Pan Pacific Championships.

And a smile as winning as Junior’s.

We join Kitsap in its pride in Nathan Adrian. Only 10 years ago, he was thrilling local crowds as a swimmer for the Bremerton Knights; in 2006, he swam the 200 Freestyle in 1:37.17, setting a school and state meet record that still stands.

We followed him at the University of California, Berkeley, where he was a five-time individual NCAA champion before graduating with honors with a public health degree in 2012.

And, of course, Beijing in 2008, London in 2012, and Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

To understand just what an accomplished swimmer (that’s an understatement) Adrian is, consider this:

At the age of 27, there is likely another Olympics in Adrian’s future. He’s currently tied for fifth on the list of top 15 male Olympic swimming gold medalists, and is tied for seventh in total number of medals.

Three more medals and he ties for ninth among winningest male Olympic athletes from all sports. Four more and he ties for seventh among all Olympic athletes, male and female.

Remember Mark Spitz? Nine golds, one silver and one bronze, a record bettered only by Michael Phelps (Ryan Lochte is second only to Phelps in overall number of medals, with 12). We believe Adrian could match Spitz’s record in gold-medal finishes.

What impresses us equally about Adrian — and this is an important example to all young athletes — is his humility. He’s an athlete who knows how to share the spotlight (five of his medals were won in team events) and knows how to live life in a good way. He’s even-keeled.

“I definitely like to think the people that are around me enjoy me for who I am and not for what I’ve done in the pool,” he told the Bremerton Patriot on April 21, 2011.

And: “I really try to do my best to live my life with no regrets,” he told Outside Online on Dec. 19, 2012. “… I am constantly thinking of how my actions in the present will affect my life in the future. I use this to make sure that I live a life which I can be proud of.”

You’ve made us all proud, Nathan. Congratulations on showing us how to reach beyond our grasp, and how to do it with grace.