Ryan Lochte is as enchanted with Olympic medals as pearls in a deep-sea oyster. The 12-time Olympic swimmer has won six gold, three silver, and three bronze medals for his efforts. He is definitely an athlete that most people envy him for and can look up to for others. Ryan is, without a doubt, the best Olympic swimmer, only behind Michael Phelps.
But his awards are not limited to the Olympic Games. Throughout his career and in every competition he has ever participated in, Ryan has won 90 medals, 54 gold, 22 silver, and 14 bronze. Lochte was named US Swimmer of the Year at the Swammy Awards in 2013. He has also been named World Swimmer of the Year twice and American Swimmer of the Year three times and FINA Swimmer of the Year three times.
For his performances with the American team, Lochte holds the world record in the 4×200-meter freestyle (long-distance) and in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay (mixed). As a soloist, he holds the world record for the 200-meter individual medley (both long and short distance) and the 400-meter individual medley (short distance).
Ryan Lochte Early life and Career
Thanks to his parents, Ryan is half Dutch and half Cuban. He was born in Rochester, New York, and grew up in Bristol, where he attended Bloomfield Central Schools. Ryan’s parents taught him to swim when he was just five years old. His father got a job as a swimming coach when he was 12 years old. This job meant that the family had to move to Florida.
He did not take swimming seriously and always caused some kind of harm to other children in the water. However, his attitude towards swimming changed at the age of 14 when he lost at the Junior Olympic Games.
In 2007, Ryan Lochte graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in Sports Management. He swam for the Florida swimming and diving team in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Olympic swimmer also swam for four years, from 2004 to 2007, in the Southeastern Conference competition. One of the most remarkable memories from this period of his career was when he broke the nearly ten-year-old NCAA record set by Tom Dolan in the 400-yard individual medley.
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Ryan’s Olympic debut came in 2008 when Ryan Lochte won team gold and individual gold as well as team bronze and individual bronze. The professional swimmer continued to collect medals and awards in the years leading up to the 2012 London Olympics. He rounded off his efforts in London with 5 medals: two gold medals, two silver, and one bronze. One gold and one silver medal were individual awards.
At the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, Ryan won another gold, bringing the number of his Olympic medals to twelve.
Ryan’s efforts do not end in a swimming pool. He has appeared in episodes 30 Rock and 90210, both of which will air in 2012. He has also participated in the dance show Dancing With The Stars together with professional dancer Cheryl Burke. In 2013 he started his own reality TV show called What Would Ryan Lochte Do? She aired an eight-part season before being canceled five weeks later.
The decorated Olympian has also had his own share of controversy. At the Olympic Games in Rio in August 2016, he and his teammate Jimmy Feigen claimed that they and two other teammates were robbed at gunpoint. A police report and a surveillance video later refuted their allegations and put them in danger of receiving an 18-month prison sentence under Brazilian law. As punishment, the swimmer finally served a 10-month swimming ban. A suspension, which he says made him stronger.
Ryan Lochte’s Family, Mom
Ryan’s father, Steven Lochte, is of German, Dutch, and English descent. His mother, Ileana Lochte (formerly Aramburu), was born and raised in Havana, Cuba. He has four siblings: Kristin, Megan, Devon, and Brandon.
Ryan obviously shares a strong bond with his mother. In an interview for Good Morning America, she showed her tendency to always defend her son. Illeana defended her son, Ryan’s bleached hair, at the 2016 Rio Olympics. She said he was a man who liked to do what he wanted and that she had gotten used to it. Although she admitted that she was not a fan of hair color, she said Ryan looked cute in it. She also said it was much better than the American flag grill he had discovered at the last Olympic Games.
Illeana also helped start the fire around the news that her son and his teammates had been robbed at the Rio Olympics. She told Fox Sports in an interview that the incident happened at gunpoint.
Ryan Lochte’s Relationships – Girlfriend, Gay, Wife, Fiancé
Ryan is certainly not gay and maybe married now, but he has dated several other celebrities in the past. In 2011 he was in a relationship with the American singer K. Michelle. They ended it after about a year of being together.
As a result, rumors spread that he was dating the Australian swimmer Blair Evans. His mother dispelled the rumor during her 2012 interview with US Weekly. In her opinion, Ryan was too focused on his career to think about relationships.
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During the 2016 Rio Olympics, it became public knowledge that Ryan Lochte was dating Kayla Rae Reid. Kayla is a former Playboy housemate. She was the Playboy playmate of the month of July 2015. In October 2016 they got engaged and had a son together on June 8, 2017. His name is Caiden Zane Lochte. In January 2018, the couple finally entered into marriage.
Net Worth – How wealthy is Ryan Lochte?
Ryan did pretty well for himself. The veteran Olympian has enough sponsorship contracts and commercial appearances to earn a considerable fortune. He has signed sponsorship contracts with companies like Speedo, Gillette, Gatorade, Nissan, AT&T, Ralph Lauren, Procter and Gamble, and others. He has also appeared in commercials promoting the Nissan Altima and has been on the front pages of Vogue, Time, Men’s Journal, and Men’s Health.
According to Fortune Magazine, these extracurricular activities earned him approximately $2.3 million in funding before the 2012 London Olympics. Considering his numerous medals at the Olympics and other competitions, it is easy to see why sources like CelebrityNetWorth put his net worth at $6 million.
Ryan Lochte’s Body Measurements
The multiple title holder stands at an impressive and intimidating height of 6 feet 2 inches, which is equivalent to 1.88 m. His sport and lifestyle mean he maintains a healthy weight of 88 kg. This keeps him on 44-inch chest size, 15-inch biceps, and 34-inch waist circumference. He also has blue eyes and light brown hair.
