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Ryan Lochte
- 2004 Olympic gold medalist in the 800m freestyle relay setting an American record, silver medalist in 200m individual medley
- 2005 World Championships gold medalist in the 800m freestyle relay, bronze medalist in the 200m backstroke and 200m IM
- 2004 Short Course World champion in the 800m freestyle relay, silver medalist in the individual medley, bronze medalist in the 200m freestyle
- Won his first U.S. National title at the 2005 World Championship Trials in the 400m individual medley
- Broke the American record in the 400y individual medley at the 2004 NCAA Championships
- Made finals in the 1500 freestyle at the Olympic Trials, dropping 11 seconds from his previous best time, but he figured Larsen Jensen and Erik Vendt had the to Olympic spots wrapped up and opted not to swim finals; he was right
- As a freshman for the University of Florida, took eighth in the mile and fourth in the 200 freestyle at the 2003 NCAAs
- Is an 11-time NCAA All-American
- Started swimming competitively at age 9
- Says his father is the most influential person in his life -- "He's always been there for me," Lochte said.
- Plays basketball, surfs and skateboards in his free time
- His father, Steve, is a coach at Daytona Beach Swim Club
Racing in the 800m freestyle relay at the 2004 Olympics, the Americans knew that the Austrailians had not lost this race in seven years of international competition. The 2004 Olympics changed that when Lochte, Peter Vanderkaay and Klete Keller all pushed themselves to extend the lead started by teammate Micheal Phelps. "Before the relay, I was relaxed, because I knew I had three other guys on the team swimming it with me," Lochte wrote to Gainesville Magazine. "I was thinking, standing on the block, 'I don’t want to be that guy that lets the Australians catch up to us.'" After receiving his gold medal, Lochte said, "I didn’t take the medal off that night."
Related Links
Official Web site: Ryan Lochte
On the 2004 Olympics: "I'll always remember this Olympics," Lochte said to ryanlochte.net. "It was my first Olympics, my first medals, something I'd always dreamed about."
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Height: 6-2
Born: Aug. 3, 1984
Hometown: New York, N.Y.
Resides: Daytona Beach, Fla.
Sport: Swimming
Event: Freestyle, IM
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