Ryan Lochte

Ryan Lochte

Lochte speaking to media at the 2013 Mel Zajac Jr. International meet in Vancouver
Personal information
Full name:	Ryan Steven Lochte
Nickname(s):	"Reezy", "The Lochtenator"
National team:	United States
Born:	August 3, 1984 (age 30) Rochester, New York
Height:	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:	194 lb (88 kg)
Sport
Sport:	Swimming
Strokes:	Backstroke, butterfly, freestyle,medley
Club:	Swim MAC Carolina
College team:	University of Florida

Ryan Steven Lochte  born August 3, 1984) is an American competitive swimmer and an 11-time Olympic medalist (five gold, three silver, three bronze). His seven individual Olympic medals ranks near the top in men's swimming. As part of the American team, he holds the world record in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay (long course). Individually, he currently holds the world record in the 100-meter individual medley, 200-meter individual medley (long and short course), and the 400-meter individual medley (short course).

Lochte's success has earned him the World Swimmer of the Year Award and the American Swimmer of the Year Award twice. He has also been named the FINA Swimmer of the Year three times. He has won a total of 77 medals in major international competition, 49 gold, 17 silver, and 11 bronze spanning the Olympics, the World,Pan American, and Pan Pacific Championships.

Lochte specializes in the backstroke and individual medley, but is also a freestyle and butterfly swimmer. He is noted for the speed and distance he attains while kicking underwater. Lochte is also known for his dominance in the short course format (25-yard and 25-meter long swimming pools).

Early life

Lochte was born in Rochester, New York, the son of Ileana "Ike" (née Aramburu) and Steven R. Lochte.  His mother is of Spanish and Basque ancestry and was born and raised in Havana, while his father is of German,Dutch and English descent.  He has two older sisters, Kristin, and Megan, and two younger brothers, Devon, and Brandon. During his early childhood, his family lived in Canandaigua, New York, but moved to Florida so his father could coach swimming. Lochte was taught to swim at the age of five by both of his parents. Ryan was often kicked out of his father's swimming classes for misbehaving, which often included pulling other children's legs, blowing bubbles, and hiding at the other end of the pool. Lochte only began taking swimming seriously when he was a junior in high school.  Steve Lochte said, "I would send him to go shower when he was messing around. He spent more time in the showers than he did in the pool." At 14 years old, Ryan's loss at the Junior Olympicschanged his attitude towards swimming: "I suddenly said, 'I'm sick of losing'. After that I trained hard and I never lost there again."

College career

Lochte attended the University of Florida and graduated in 2007, majoring in sport management.  As a member of the Florida Gators swimming and diving team, he swam for coach Gregg Troy in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and Southeastern Conference (SEC) competition from 2004 to 2007. At Florida, Lochte was the NCAA Swimmer of the Year twice, a seven-time NCAA champion, a seven-time SEC champion, and a 24-timeAll-American. At the 2006 NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships, during his senior year, Lochte won national titles in all three of his individual events, setting U.S. Open and American records in the 200-yard individual medley and 200-yard backstroke. He also broke Tom Dolan's nearly decade-old NCAA record in the 400-yard individual medley.

International career

2004–2005

Medal record
2004 Athens – Men's swimming
Competitor for the USA
	4×200 m freestyle relay	7:07.33
	200 m individual medley	1:58.78

Lochte qualified for his first Olympics after finishing second to Michael Phelps in the 200-meter individual medley at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials.  He also qualified for the 4×200-meter freestyle relay team after finishing 4th in the 200-meter freestyle final.  At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, Lochte swam with Phelps, Klete Keller, and Peter Vanderkaay to upset the Australian team and capture the gold medal in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay. It was the first loss for the Australian team in six years.  He also narrowly edged out George Bovell and László Cseh in the 200-meter individual medley to win the silver medal behind Phelps.

Later that year at the 2004 FINA Short Course World Championships in Indianapolis, Lochte won the silver medal in the 200-meter individual medley and the bronze in the 200-meter freestyle.  He also won the gold medal in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay with Chad Carvin, Dan Ketchum, and Justin Mortimer. 

At the 2005 World Aquatics Championships in Montreal, Lochte won the bronze medals in both the 200-meter backstroke and 200-meter individual medley.  In the 4×200-meter freestyle relay, Lochte teamed with Phelps, Vanderkaay, and Keller to win gold ahead of Canada and Australia.

2006–2007

At the 2006 FINA Short Course World Championships in Shanghai, held just two weeks after the 2006 NCAA Championships, Lochte won three individual titles, one silver, and one bronze. He won the 200-meter individual medley and the 200-meter backstroke, setting new world records in both events.  He also set another world record in the 100-meter backstroke in the opening leg of the 4×100-meter medley relay, becoming the first man to complete the distance in under 50 seconds.  He won his third gold medal in the 400-meter individual medley, setting a new championship record.

At the 2007 World Aquatics Championships in Melbourne, Australia, Lochte won his first individual gold medal at a long course world championship in the 200-meter backstroke against compatriot Aaron Peirsol, breaking Peirsol's world record and his seven-year winning streak in the event.  This was Lochte's first world record in a long course event.  A little more than 90 minutes later, Lochte went on to set a world record in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay with Phelps, Keller, and Vanderkaay.  He also won silver medals in the 100-meter backstroke, the 200-meter individual medley, and the 400-meter individual medley, making his medal total for the meet second only to Phelps.

Within a week of the world championships, Lochte competed in the annual Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool where he again beat Peirsol. In the 100-meter backstroke, he broke Peirsol's other seven-year winning streak in the shorter of the backstroke races, edging out Peirsol by 0.06 seconds

2008 Summer Olympics

Medal record
2008 Beijing – Men's swimming
Competitor for the USA
	200 m backstroke	1:53.94 (WR)
	4×200 m freestyle relay	6:58.56 (WR)
	200 m individual medley	1:56.53
	400 m individual medley	4:08.09

Lochte (left) with Phelps (center) and Cseh (right) after winning the bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in the 400-meter individual medley.

Olympic Trials

At the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Omaha, Nebraska, Lochte competed in six individual events and qualified to swim in three individual events at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Also, with his third place finish in the 200-meter freestyle, Lochte was ensured a spot on the 4×200-meter freestyle relay. In his first event, Lochte finished second to Phelps in the 400-meter individual medley.  Both Lochte and Phelps finished below Phelps' previous world record in the event.  In his second event, the 200-meter freestyle, Lochte finished in third place behind Phelps and Vanderkaay.  Less than 30 minutes after the 200-meter freestyle final, Lochte then competed in the 100-meter backstroke final, finishing in third place behind Aaron Peirsol and Matt Grevers.  The next day, Lochte competed in the 100-meter freestyle but withdrew after the semifinals.  Two days later, in the 200-meter backstroke, Lochte finished in second place behind Peirsol, who equalled Lochte's world record.  Less than 30 minutes after the 200-meter backstroke final, Lochte finished second to Phelps in the 200-meter individual medley.

Olympics

In his first event at the 2008 Summer Olympics, Lochte won the bronze medal in the 400-meter individual medley behind Phelps and Cseh. His time of 4:08.09 was two seconds slower than the time he swam in Omaha.  In his second event, Lochte swam the second leg of the 4×200-meter freestyle relay. With Phelps, Ricky Berens, and Vanderkaay, he won his first gold medal and set his first world record as the American team finished first with a time of 6:58.56. The Americans were the first team to break the seven-minute mark in the relay, and broke the previous record, set in Melbourne, Australia, by more than four and a half seconds. In his third event, the 200-meter backstroke, Lochte won his first individual gold medal and set the world record, beating defending champion Peirsol.  Twenty-seven minutes after the final of the 200-meter backstroke, Lochte went on to win the bronze in the 200-meter individual medley, finishing behind Phelps and Cseh.

2009 World Championships

At the 2009 National Championships, the selection meet for the 2009 World Aquatics Championships, Lochte won individual titles in the 200 and 400-meter individual medley.  Lochte also qualified to swim in the 4×100 and 4×200-meter freestyle relay.  In the 200-meter backstroke final, Lochte placed second behind Aaron Peirsol, and lost his world record he set in Beijing when Peirsol recorded a time of 1:53.08.

In his first event at the 2009 World Aquatics Championships in Rome, Lochte swam the second leg of the men's 4×100-meter freestyle relay in a time of 47.03. He earned a gold medal in the event along with Phelps,Matt Grevers, and Nathan Adrian. The final time of 3:09.21 was a championship record and just ahead of Russia (3:09.52) and France (3:09.89).  With Phelps not competing in the 200 or 400-meter individual medley at these championships, Lochte won the gold in both events. In the 200-meter individual medley, Lochte broke Phelps' world record of 1:54.23 with a time of 1:54.10.  In the 200-meter backstroke, Lochte won the bronze medal, finishing behind Peirsol and Ryosuke Irie of Japan.  In the 4×200-meter freestyle relay final, Lochte swam the anchor leg in 1:44.46. Combined with Phelps, Berens, and David Walters, Lochte won the gold medal and his team broke the previous world record by one-hundredth of a second with a time of 6:58.55.

2010

At the 2010 National Championships, the selection meet for the 2010 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships and the 2011 World Aquatics Championships, Lochte won individual titles in the 200-meter backstroke, 200-meter individual medley, and the 400-meter individual medley.  He also placed second in the 100 and 200-meter freestyle.  Lochte's win in the 200-meter individual medley was the first time he defeated Phelps in a major national or international meet.

At the 2010 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Irvine, California, Lochte won a total of six gold medals. His wins included the 200-meter backstroke, 200-meter freestyle, the 200 and 400-meter individual medley, and the 4×100 and 4×200-meter freestyle relay. 

At the 2010 FINA Short Course World Championships in Dubai, Lochte became the first individual in history to win seven medals at the Short Course Worlds and was the only person to set a world record individually since body-length swimsuits were banned.  In Dubai, Lochte won gold in the 200-meter backstroke, 200-meter freestyle, all the individual medleys (100, 200, 400), and the 4×100-meter medley relay. He also won silver in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay. Lochte's world records in Dubai came on consecutive days, first in the 400-meter individual medley, then in the 200-meter individual medley. Both world records were broken by considerable margins.

At year's end, Lochte was named the World Swimmer of the Year and American Swimmer of the Year by Swimming World Magazine.  He was also named FINA male swimmer of the year for 2010 by FINA Aquatics World Magazine.  2010 saw Lochte win a total of 13 international medals, 12 of them gold.

2011 World Championships

At the 2011 World Aquatics Championships, Lochte won a total of six medals, five golds and one bronze. Lochte won his first medal, a bronze, in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay for his contributions in the heats. In the heats, Lochte recorded a time of 48.28, off from the 47.98 he recorded last year in Irvine. In his second event, the 200-meter freestyle, Lochte won the gold with a time of 1:44.44, finishing ahead of Michael Phelps who recorded a time of 1:44.79.  It was Lochte's first gold in the event in the long course World Championships. Lochte won the 200-meter individual medley event in a world record time of 1:54.00, finishing ahead of Michael Phelps time of 1:54.16. In the 200-meter backstroke, Lochte dominated the competition with a time of 1:52.96, over a second ahead of second place finisher Ryosuke Irie. Shortly after completing the 200-meter backstroke, Lochte competed in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay with Michael Phelps, Peter Vanderkaay, and Ricky Berens. Swimming the anchor leg in 1:44.56, Lochte was able to make up a deficit from France for the win. The final time for the relay was 7:02.67. In his last event, the 400-meter individual medley, Lochte continued his dominance with a win in a time of 4:07.13. His closest competitor, Tyler Clary, finished in 4:11.17, over four seconds behind.

Lochte said he was pleased with his performance at the 2011 World Aquatics Championships but feels that he can improve his times before the 2012 Olympics. "Getting five gold medals is definitely great, but the times that I went, I know I could go a lot faster," he said. "There are a lot of places in my races that I messed up on that I could have changed and gone faster, but I guess I have a whole year to make sure I have those perfect swims."

At year's end, Lochte was named the World Swimmer of the Year and American Swimmer of the Year by Swimming World Magazine, and defended his titles from 2010.  He was also named FINA male swimmer of the year for 2011 by FINA Aquatics World Magazine, and also defended this title.

2012 Summer Olympics

Olympic Trials

At the 2012 United States Olympic Trials, the qualifying meet for the 2012 Summer Olympics, Lochte qualified for the Olympic team by finishing first in the 200-meter backstroke and 400-meter individual medley, and second in the 200-meter freestyle and 200-meter individual medley. Lochte also narrowly missed a spot competing in the individual 100-meter butterfly by finishing third.

Olympics

At the Olympics in London, Lochte won his first gold medal of the games in the 400-meter individual medley with a time of 4:05.18.  Commenting on his first medal of the 2012 Olympics and the head-to-head competition with fellow American and world record holder, Michael Phelps, Lochte acknowledged Phelps' greatness while positioning himself as the best today.

Lochte won a silver medal with the U.S. 4×100-meter freestyle relay team, losing out to the French team with a 47.74 split, a full second slower than the French finishing swimmer Yannick Agnel and six tenths of a second slower than teammate Phelps.

Lochte placed fourth in the 200-meter freestyle race. He followed that performance, however, by winning gold with the U.S. 4×200-meter freestyle team. Lochte swam the first split and provided the U.S. team a commanding lead that it never relinquished.

On the sixth night of the Games, Lochte swam his last two finals, with only 30 minutes in between.  First, he won the bronze medal in the 200m backstroke, finishing behind compatriot Tyler Clary and Japan's Ryosuke Irie. His time of 1.53.94 tied the time he swam four years ago when he won the gold medal at the 2008 Games, which was then a world record. Half an hour later, Lochte took on Phelps in the 200m individual medley. He won a silver medal behind Phelps in the last head-to-head race of their careers, as Phelps retired after the Games.  This was the third consecutive Olympics in which Lochte won a medal in the 200m individual medley.

His five medals brought his total to 11 Olympic medals, tied for second among male swimmers with compatriots Mark Spitz and Matt Biondi, behind only Phelps.^[  His seven individual Olympic medals are the second-most in men's Olympic swimming, surpassing Zoltán Halmay and Mark Spitz, who won six.

Lochte has announced he intends to continue swimming through the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.  He is also considering exploring new events.

Medal record
2012 London – Men's swimming
Competitor for the USA
	400 m individual medley	4:05.18
	4×200 m freestyle relay	6:59.70
	200 m individual medley	1:54.90
	4×100 m freestyle relay	3:10.38
	200 m backstroke	1:53.94

2013 World Championships

In his first event at the 2013 World Aquatics Championships in Barcelona, Lochte combined with Nathan Adrian,Anthony Ervin, and Jimmy Feigen in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay, with the team finishing behind France. Swimming the second leg, Lochte recorded a split of 47.80, and the team finished with a final time of 3:11.44. In his first individual event, the 200-meter freestyle, Lochte was unsuccessful in defending his title and placed fourth in the final with a time of 1:45.64. Lochte won his first individual medal of the competition, a gold, by defending his title in the 200-meter individual medley, recording a time of 1:54.98. The day following his 200 medley gold, Lochte also defended his title in the 200-meter backstroke, recording a time of 1:53.79 in the final. On the same day of winning the 200-meter backstroke (and swimming in the 100-meter butterfly semifinals where he set a personal best and qualified for the final), Lochte combined with Conor Dwyer, Charlie Houchin, and Ricky Berens, to win the 4x200-meter freestyle relay. Swimming the second leg, Lochte recorded a split of 1:44.98, and the team finished with a final time of 7:01.72. In winning the 4x200 relay, Lochte became the first swimmer to win 5 consecutive gold medals at the World Championships in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay (while also being the first swimmer, along with compatriot Michael Phelps, to win the 4x200 m freestyle relay Olympic Gold Medal on 3 successive occasions).

The following day, Lochte competed in the 100-meter butterfly and finished 6th in the final with a time of 51.58, just off his semifinal time of 51.48.

Television appearances and pop culture fame

Before the 2012 Summer Olympics, Fortune magazine estimated that Lochte earned $2.3 million from endorsement deals with Speedo, Mutual of Omaha, Gillette, Gatorade, Procter and Gamble, Ralph Lauren,Nissan and AT&T.^[78] Lochte has also appeared in commercials for the Nissan Altima and been featured on the covers of Vogue, Time, Men's Health and Men's Journal.

NPR named Lochte as their "platonic ideal of bro-dom".

Actor and comedian Seth MacFarlane parodied Lochte in the 2012 season premiere of Saturday Night Live, after which Lochte said he would be open to doing a cameo appearance on the show.

Lochte appeared as an exaggerated version of himself in the 30 Rock episode "Stride of Pride," which aired October 18, 2012. He also had a guest appearance on 90210 in late 2012.  Additionally, he showed interest in being a participant on Dancing with the Stars. 

What Would Ryan Lochte Do? began airing April 21, 2013 on E!  and was cancelled after only one season, five weeks later.

Lochte's public persona and character have inspired a series of unflattering internet memes.

Awards

Year	Group	Award	Result	Notes
2013	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV: Male Reality/Variety Star	Nominated	What Would Ryan Lochte Do?

Personal life

Despite rumors in the Australian press linking Lochte with Australian swimmer Blair Evans, Lochte's mother, Ileana, confirmed to Us Weekly in a July 28, 2012, interview that her son was "too busy" to be in a relationship and stated that it "wouldn't be fair to the girl."

On August 1, 2012, Lochte trademarked his personal catchphrase, "Jeah," with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office.

Career best times

Event	Time	Record	Meet
Long course
100 m freestyle	48.16 (pr)		2009 US Nationals
200 m freestyle	1:44.44		2011 World Championships
200 m individual medley	1:54.00	WR holder	2011 World Championships
400 m individual medley	4:05.18		2012 Olympics
100 m butterfly	51.48 (sf)		2013 World Championships
200 m backstroke	1:52.96	Former WR holder	2011 World Championships

Event	Time	Record	Meet
Short course
200 m freestyle	1.41.08	American record holder	2010 SC World Championships
100 m individual medley	50.71	Former WR holder	2012 SC World Championships
200 m individual medley	1:49.63	WR holder	2012 SC World Championships
400 m individual medley	3:55.50	WR holder	2010 SC World Championships
100 m backstroke	49.99	Former WR holder	2006 SC World Championships
200 m backstroke	1:46.68	AR & former WR holder	2010 SC World Championships

Medal record

Men's Swimming

Competitor for the United States

International aquatics competitions

Event	1st	2nd	3rd
Olympic Games	5	3	3
World Championships (LC)	15	4	4
World Championships (SC)	21	10	7
Pan Pacific Championships	8	4	0
Pan American Games	1	0	0
Total	50	21	14

Olympic Games

Olympic Games
	2004 Athens	4×200 m freestyle
	2008 Beijing	200 m backstroke
	2008 Beijing	4×200 m freestyle
	2012 London	400 m medley
	2012 London	4×200 m freestyle
	2004 Athens	200 m medley
	2012 London	200 m medley
	2012 London	4×100 m freestyle
	2008 Beijing	200 m medley
	2008 Beijing	400 m medley
	2012 London	200 m backstroke

Gold: 2016 Rio de Janerio 4x200 m freestyle

World Championships (LC)
	2005 Montreal	4×200 m freestyle
	2007 Melbourne	200 m backstroke
	2007 Melbourne	4×200 m freestyle
	2009 Rome	200 m medley
	2009 Rome	400 m medley
	2009 Rome	4×100 m freestyle
	2009 Rome	4×200 m freestyle
	2011 Shanghai	200 m freestyle
	2011 Shanghai	200 m backstroke
	2011 Shanghai	200 m medley
	2011 Shanghai	400 m medley
	2011 Shanghai	4×200 m freestyle
	2013 Barcelona	200 m backstroke
	2013 Barcelona	200 m medley
	2013 Barcelona	4×200 m freestyle
	2007 Melbourne	100 m backstroke
	2007 Melbourne	200 m medley
	2007 Melbourne	400 m medley
	2013 Barcelona	4×100 m freestyle
	2005 Montreal	200 m backstroke
	2005 Montreal	200 m medley
	2009 Rome	200 m backstroke
	2011 Shanghai	4×100 m freestyle

World Championships (SC)
	2004 Indianapolis	4×200 m freestyle
	2006 Shanghai	200 m backstroke
	2006 Shanghai	200 m medley
	2006 Shanghai	400 m medley
	2008 Manchester	100 m medley
	2008 Manchester	200 m medley
	2008 Manchester	400 m medley
	2008 Manchester	4×100 m freestyle
	2010 Dubai	200 m freestyle
	2010 Dubai	200 m backstroke
	2010 Dubai	100 m medley
	2010 Dubai	200 m medley
	2010 Dubai	400 m medley
	2010 Dubai	4×100 m medley
	2012 Istanbul	200 m freestyle
	2012 Istanbul	100 m medley
	2012 Istanbul	200 m medley
	2012 Istanbul	4×100 m freestyle
	2012 Istanbul	4×200 m freestyle
	2012 Istanbul	4×100 m medley
	2014 Doha	4×200 m freestyle
	2004 Indianapolis	200 m medley
	2006 Shanghai	4×100 m medley
	2008 Manchester	200 m backstroke
	2008 Manchester	4×100 m medley
	2010 Dubai	4×200 m freestyle
	2012 Istanbul	200 m backstroke
	2014 Doha	200 m backstroke
	2014 Doha	200 m medley
	2014 Doha	4×50 m freestyle
	2014 Doha	4×100 m medley
	2004 Indianapolis	200 m freestyle
	2006 Shanghai	4×100 m freestyle
	2006 Shanghai	4×200 m freestyle
	2012 Istanbul	100 m butterfly
	2014 Doha	200 m freestyle
	2014 Doha	100 m medley
	2014 Doha	4×100 m freestyle

Pan Pacific Championships
	2006 Victoria	4×200 m freestyle
	2010 Irvine	200 m freestyle
	2010 Irvine	200 m backstroke
	2010 Irvine	200 m medley
	2010 Irvine	400 m medley
	2010 Irvine	4×100 m freestyle
	2010 Irvine	4×200 m freestyle
	2014 Gold Coast	4×200 m freestyle
	2006 Victoria	100 m backstroke
	2006 Victoria	200 m medley
	2014 Gold Coast	100 m butterfly
	2014 Gold Coast	4×100 m freestyle

Pan American Games
	2003 Sto Domingo	4×200 m freestyle