Ryan Lochte recently snapped back at people questioning his appearance after he was announced as a coach for Missouri State University’s swim team. Fans called him unrecognizable, and the swimmer defended himself, calling them ‘clowns.’
Lochte has had an illustrious swimming career, winning 12 Olympic medals. The American never announced his retirement from the sport; however, he recently shifted to a new career as a swim coach at Missouri State University.
On May 11, the university’s swimming and diving head coach Dave Collins announced that the Olympic star would be joining as an assistant swimming coach. Lochte also took to Instagram to announce the news, sharing a video in which he was seen with dark hair and a tan. Shortly after this development, he faced heavy scrutiny from fans, with some calling him unrecognizable.
His girlfriend, Molly Gillihan, posted a video featuring Lochte’s response.
“Baby, my phone is blowing up with everyone saying that nobody recognises you. Why I don’t know. You haven’t seen it? They say that you don’t look the same at all. One person said that Missouri State’s getting catfished. You look good. I mean, it’s like you’re all fit and it’s a professional picture,” said Gillihan.
Responding to this, Lochte said:
“Oh, so they’re taking a picture of when I was working out every day, getting makeup put on me for photo shoots, when I was back in 2012 Olympics, where in 2026. What’s that 14 years. They’re, they’re all clowns. Like, come on,” said Ryan Lochte.
Ryan Lochte opened up about transitioning into his new role as Missouri’s swim coach
Ryan Lochte had an impressive career in competitive swimming, starting from his 2004 Olympic debut to his last Olympic appearance at the 2016 Games. He tried his best to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics; however, he fell short and hasn’t returned to the competitive scene since then.
He recently announced his decision to step down from competitive swimming and to take on his new role as assistant coach for the Missouri swimming team. He said:
“Plot twist, Ryan Lochte is officially becoming Coach Lochte. After spending half my life staring at the black line at the bottom of a pool, I figured it was time to help the next generation do the same thing. Swimming gave me an incredible career, memories, things I will cherish forever. But over the last couple of years, something so unexpected happened. I might actually be more passionate about coaching than competing. Don’t get me wrong, I had a pretty good swimming career, but honestly, I think I might even be a better swim coach,” said Ryan Lochte.
He added:
“So, I traded in my goggles for a stopwatch, and I’m not gonna lie. It looks pretty good on me. And yes, don’t worry, I will still say Jia, I will still over celebrate, and yes, there might be way too much energy on pool deck, but that’s OK. I’m beyond excited to work with the athletes at Missouri State Bears alongside coach Dave Collins. And helping these swimmers both in and out of the pool and creating unforgettable memories along the way. Let’s go Bears. Let’s get it.”
Ryan Lochte has won a total of 54 gold medals in his career, including 6 Olympic gold medals, 18 World Championships LC medals, 21 World Championships SC medals, 8 Pan Pacific Championships medals, and 1 Pan American Games medal.
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