Lochte have gills? Nah. (But he does have grillz!)
This article's over five years old, but it's still an interesting read. It's pre-Athens and even pre-trials - Ryan was only a sophomore at UF.
Reezy when he was 19.
Ryan Lochte Gearing Up Olympics, Sophomore Year
2004 Olympic hopeful Ryan Lochte’s numbers are incredible.
Actually, perhaps that’s not strong enough of a word. Lochte’s numbers just might border on preposterous.
And we’re not even talking about his swimming times in the 200-meter individual medley (fourth fastest all-time American mark) or the 400-meter individual medley (seventh fastest).
While those marks are certainly eye-popping for a 19-year old, the number that truly stands out and nearly re-classifies Lochte as a member of the "marine life" family is the numeral 30.
That’s the number of hours Lochte spends in the pool in a week. That’s more than four hours a day. That’s more than one day each week. That’s more than two months every year.
But those are merely trivial. When taken into account that Lochte’s been swimming since he was seven, one seriously begins to wonder if he’s got gills. Even by cutting his weekly pool time by two-thirds down to 10 hours per week during the last 12 years, that would mean the following: Lochte’s spent more than 6,000 hours in a pool, more than 250 days in a pool and nearly three-fourths of a calendar year in a pool.
All that from a kid who used to intentionally get kicked out of swimming practice.
"That was my goal every day," he said.
How’s that for a path to greatness? Get booted from practice daily: become a potential Olympian.
Whatever works.
"Almost every day, I got kicked out," said Lochte, a sophomore All-American from Daytona Beach. "The coaches would give us a set and I’d say I didn’t want to do it. Sometimes I would tell them I’d have to go to the bathroom and I’d stay in the shower the whole time."
That didn’t sit too well with a couple of other swimming coaches, two in particular: Lochte’s mother, Ike, and his father, Steve.
Gradually, Lochte pared back on his practice shenanigans. Not surprisingly, Lochte gradually developed into a premier swimmer. But the one defining moment came when his family left New York to move to Florida so Steve could start up a swim team in Daytona Beach.
Lochte was 11 at the time and vividly remembers his first swimming experience.
"I got creamed at the first meet I went to," he said. "I was dead last in everything. That’s when I decided to start really training."
And the countless hours of an aquatic life began to pay off. Lochte won multiple state titles in high school. As a freshman at Florida in 2002-03, Lochte burst on the college swimming scene. He took high point honors at the U.S. Open in December before going on to earn the same award at the SEC Championships after claiming first in three events: the 400-yard individual medley, the 1,650-yard freestyle and the 800-yard freestyle relay. He then helped the Gators place sixth at the NCAA Championships by earning five All-America honors.
Clearly, he enjoyed a successful season. But that was just the beginning. Lochte trekked down to the Dominican Republic as a member of the U.S. Pan American Games team. After failing to previously qualify in both the 200-and 400-meter individual medley, Lochte could only participate as an exhibition swimmer.
No matter. He went on to clock a 2:00.34 in the 200-meter individual medley to set a Pan Am Games record, as well as become the fourth-fastest American ever. For an encore, he became the seventh-fastest American in the 400-meter individual medley with a time of 4:16.80.
"I didn’t realize it until people told me the next day," Lochte said. " I just remember touching the wall and turning around and thinking, ‘Did I just do that?’"
While a fair amount of suitors pursued Lochte out of high school, including Auburn and Texas, he ultimately decided on Florida because the focus seemed more on the "We" instead of the "I."
"I came for a meet my junior year and just wanted to be here," Lochte said. "I saw the team lining up and cheering for every person, even if they were in the slowest lane. The teams weren’t like that at other places, so when I saw the way Florida was, I knew that I wanted to be a part of it"
In a perfect world, Lochte will be a part of the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece. To make it, he’ll have to repeat his performance from the Pan Ams at the 2004 Olympic trials, which take place in July next year. He’s already qualified in the 200-and 400-meter individual medley and the 200-meter freestyle and will be looking to join the contingency of more than 70 former Gator Olympians.
But it’s not something he dwells on.
"Every once in a while, I’ll picture me going to the Olympics and holding up a medal, but I try not to think about it," he said. "I know some people that think about it every day and then when the trials come, they swim bad. I just want to do the training right and then it will all fall into place."
No matter what happens in the next year, one thing’s for sure -- he won’t be skipping any practices to hang out in the shower.
[ source ]
Reezy when he was 19.
Ryan Lochte Gearing Up Olympics, Sophomore Year
2004 Olympic hopeful Ryan Lochte’s numbers are incredible.
Actually, perhaps that’s not strong enough of a word. Lochte’s numbers just might border on preposterous.
And we’re not even talking about his swimming times in the 200-meter individual medley (fourth fastest all-time American mark) or the 400-meter individual medley (seventh fastest).
While those marks are certainly eye-popping for a 19-year old, the number that truly stands out and nearly re-classifies Lochte as a member of the "marine life" family is the numeral 30.
That’s the number of hours Lochte spends in the pool in a week. That’s more than four hours a day. That’s more than one day each week. That’s more than two months every year.
But those are merely trivial. When taken into account that Lochte’s been swimming since he was seven, one seriously begins to wonder if he’s got gills. Even by cutting his weekly pool time by two-thirds down to 10 hours per week during the last 12 years, that would mean the following: Lochte’s spent more than 6,000 hours in a pool, more than 250 days in a pool and nearly three-fourths of a calendar year in a pool.
All that from a kid who used to intentionally get kicked out of swimming practice.
"That was my goal every day," he said.
How’s that for a path to greatness? Get booted from practice daily: become a potential Olympian.
Whatever works.
"Almost every day, I got kicked out," said Lochte, a sophomore All-American from Daytona Beach. "The coaches would give us a set and I’d say I didn’t want to do it. Sometimes I would tell them I’d have to go to the bathroom and I’d stay in the shower the whole time."
That didn’t sit too well with a couple of other swimming coaches, two in particular: Lochte’s mother, Ike, and his father, Steve.
Gradually, Lochte pared back on his practice shenanigans. Not surprisingly, Lochte gradually developed into a premier swimmer. But the one defining moment came when his family left New York to move to Florida so Steve could start up a swim team in Daytona Beach.
Lochte was 11 at the time and vividly remembers his first swimming experience.
"I got creamed at the first meet I went to," he said. "I was dead last in everything. That’s when I decided to start really training."
And the countless hours of an aquatic life began to pay off. Lochte won multiple state titles in high school. As a freshman at Florida in 2002-03, Lochte burst on the college swimming scene. He took high point honors at the U.S. Open in December before going on to earn the same award at the SEC Championships after claiming first in three events: the 400-yard individual medley, the 1,650-yard freestyle and the 800-yard freestyle relay. He then helped the Gators place sixth at the NCAA Championships by earning five All-America honors.
Clearly, he enjoyed a successful season. But that was just the beginning. Lochte trekked down to the Dominican Republic as a member of the U.S. Pan American Games team. After failing to previously qualify in both the 200-and 400-meter individual medley, Lochte could only participate as an exhibition swimmer.
No matter. He went on to clock a 2:00.34 in the 200-meter individual medley to set a Pan Am Games record, as well as become the fourth-fastest American ever. For an encore, he became the seventh-fastest American in the 400-meter individual medley with a time of 4:16.80.
"I didn’t realize it until people told me the next day," Lochte said. " I just remember touching the wall and turning around and thinking, ‘Did I just do that?’"
While a fair amount of suitors pursued Lochte out of high school, including Auburn and Texas, he ultimately decided on Florida because the focus seemed more on the "We" instead of the "I."
"I came for a meet my junior year and just wanted to be here," Lochte said. "I saw the team lining up and cheering for every person, even if they were in the slowest lane. The teams weren’t like that at other places, so when I saw the way Florida was, I knew that I wanted to be a part of it"
In a perfect world, Lochte will be a part of the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece. To make it, he’ll have to repeat his performance from the Pan Ams at the 2004 Olympic trials, which take place in July next year. He’s already qualified in the 200-and 400-meter individual medley and the 200-meter freestyle and will be looking to join the contingency of more than 70 former Gator Olympians.
But it’s not something he dwells on.
"Every once in a while, I’ll picture me going to the Olympics and holding up a medal, but I try not to think about it," he said. "I know some people that think about it every day and then when the trials come, they swim bad. I just want to do the training right and then it will all fall into place."
No matter what happens in the next year, one thing’s for sure -- he won’t be skipping any practices to hang out in the shower.
[ source ]