Ryan Lochte To Compete for U.S. for First Time Since Olympics
Nearly a year after the Rio Games, Ryan Lochte is set to make his return to competition on Saturday.
The 12-time Olympic medalist, notorious for the out-of-pool legal saga that dominated Rio 2016 headlines, will swim in the U.S. Open this weekend in East Meadow, N.Y. He’ll race in the 100-meter backstroke and 200-meter individual medley.
This is Lochte’s first sanctioned meet for USA Swimming after serving a 10-month suspension that came after a well-publicized, bizarre incident at a gas station in Rio de Janeiro that involved three teammates. The swimmers said they were robbed and forced out of their taxi at gunpoint. After multiple versions of the story came to light, it became clear that they had stopped the cab to take a bathroom break, someone vandalized the bathroom and that they were only then confronted by security guards.
Lochte’s case was dismissed by a court in Brazil and his suspension lifted July 1.
Lochte, 33, last raced at the U.S. Masters spring nationals in April, which is not an official USA Swimming event. He has said he plans to compete in Tokyo in 2020.
