36 year-old Ryan Lochte spoke with the press after finishing 7th in the 200 IM, the event in which he’s the world record holder and has made the team in the last four Olympics.
Lochte expressed his disappointment about the swim, but said he that he did feel a sense of peace since there was no more pressure on him to make the team. He also admitted that it was tough to see him still going after another Olympic team three years from now, but didn’t totally rule it out.
I think I’ve said this millions of times, I will quit swimming when I stop having fun. I love this sport. It’s gotten me to places that I have never — that people dream about. So I’m very grateful for that. I’m still having fun, I’m finding different ways of making swimming fun again. I still want to race, but as far as another Olympic Trials, I don’t know about that. I will be 40. That’s pushing it. We’ll see. Anything can happen. I could take years off and come back and be stronger than ever, who knows.
Lochte was visibly emotional during the conference, including when he told about how Ryan Murphy and Michael Andrew described the impact he had on them.
I mean, just like that, it means a lot. Probably more than winning a gold medal. I honestly, I couldn’t be here right now and have the swimming career that I had without them, so thank you. That’s all I’ve got.
Originally reported by James Sutherland
MEN’S 200 IM FINAL
- Michael Andrew (RPC), 1:55.44
- Chase Kalisz (ABSC), 1:56.97
- Kieran Smith (FLOR), 1:57.23
Michael Andrew delivered almost the exact same swim we saw from him last night, except this time it was done with the pressure on.
Andrew blitzed the field on the first 50, out in 23.77, and had subsequent splits of 29.29 and 32.29 on back and breast, putting him five one-hundredths shy of his 150 pace compared to last night.
The 22-year-old was way ahead of the field at that point, more than two and a half seconds, and despite laboring over the final few strokes, he won by over a second and a half in 1:55.44, just off his PB of 1:55.26 from last night.
That adds a second individual event for Andrew in Tokyo, having won the 100 breast early in the meet, and he’ll look to add a third in the 50 free.
Chase Kalisz moved up from fifth at the 100 to second with 50 meters to go, joining Andrew sub-33 on breast in 32.77, as he locks in a second event of his won at the Games with a runner-up finish in 1:56.97.
Florida’s Kieran Smith sneaked up on Kalisz a little on the free, closing in 28.43 to take a close third in 1:57.23, lowering his best time of 1:57.61 from the semis. Carson Foster took fourth in 1:57.99, adding a bit from the semis, as he has three near-misses her in Omaha.
Back in seventh was Ryan Lochte, the world record holder in the event, who, at 36, may have just raced competitively at the highest level for the last time. Lochte was never in serious contention in this race, ultimately clocking 1:59.67.
