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Column by John Lohn
IRVINE, California, August 21. WHETHER sporting a set of grillz or flashing those shiny green shoes that are difficult to miss, Ryan Lochte is a man of style. And stylish is the only way to describe how Lochte capped the finest competition of his career at the Pan Pacific Championships at the William Woollett Aquatic Center.
Over the course of the four-day meet, Lochte repeatedly dazzled the crowd and punctuated his performance by pushing his world record in the 200 individual medley. Clocking in at 1:54.43, Lochte was just off his global standard of 1:54.10, set in a tech-suit at last year's World Championships in Rome. Not only did Lochte post the fastest time in history in a textile suit, he captured his sixth gold medal of the meet - four individual and two in relay action.
Two years ago, for obvious reasons, we were talking about Michael Phelps as the most dominant swimmer in the world and the best the sport has seen. Phelps' overall legacy has not been touched. He remains the greatest swimmer of all-time. At least for now, however, Lochte is the top dog, his versatility and dominance inarguable.
With Pan Pacs crammed into four days, Lochte was exhausted for his final race and still managed to scare the world record. That near miss is a testament to his ability to bounce back and handle a heavy workload, just as Phelps has been able to do during his career. More, it demonstrated that Lochte is capable of embracing a schedule with eight events.
"I am done," Lochte said after his last event. "I had the world record in my sight and I know I'm capable of it, but all the swims earlier in the week took a (toll). But I'm happy with it. I wasn't thinking I had to go out and break the world record. I took a shot and tried, but it gives me something to work on for the next two years."
As talented as Lochte is in the water, the way he carries himself outside of the pool is what has the fans in a frenzy each time his name is announced. He has the ability to connect with the crowd, is charismatic and is anything but arrogant. He also boasts a good sense of humor and his favorite activities, such as skateboarding, only add to his likability factor.
Throughout the Pan Pacific Championships, Lochte talked about the meet serving as a stepping stone for the future. That future includes next year's World Championships in Shanghai and the 2012 Olympics in London. Which events Lochte contests at the next Games remains to be seen, but the options are aplenty - 200 freestyle, both backstrokes, both individual medleys and the relays.
Lochte is quickly climbing the ladder of greatest swimmers in history and the events of Shanghai and London will go a long way in determining how high he can move up the list and whether he can make further progress against Phelps. Regardless, the United States must feel fortunate to have the two best swimmers on the planet.
"How good is life for the United States when you have both Phelps and Lochte," said Mark Schubert, the National Team Head Coach and General Manager, earlier this week. "What Ryan and (coach) Gregg Troy have established has been tremendous and they'll keep working toward London.""
Never one to shy away from a challenge, Phelps undoubtedly has taken mental notes this week on Lochte's performances. Putting in less training time than coach Bob Bowman would have liked, Phelps will almost certainly be pushed to get his training back to normal levels, in time to set a foundation at the World Championships and then to excel again on the Olympic stage.
Phelps' week had its ups and downs, the positives being his performances in the 100 butterfly and as the leadoff leg on the 400 free relay. The negative was his struggle in the 400 individual medley, although given Phelps' conditioning level, that was a test that was going to be hard to pass. By the next international meet, expect Phelps - buoyed by the presence of Lochte - to have many more positive moments.
For now, though, Ryan Lochte sits atop the swimming world, the target of the rest of the world. His ascension to that place has been well-earned, and a rise that has been made with panache. He couldn't do it any other way.
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August 21, 2010 JEAH!!! Submitted by: liquidassets
August 21, 2010 Yeah, Lochte's up the ladder but you know who's STILL on the top step.
Give him a year or a reasonable facsisimile thereof to train and get redy for next year's Worlds and back at again in prep for London and then Katie, bar the door, he'll be BAAAAAAAKKKKK!!!!! Submitted by: slickwillie32
August 22, 2010 Lochte was out of the water for six months after tearing his ACL, so you can't exactly say he had the best preparation for his season either. Lochte has become considerably stronger out of the water and completely changed his diet, and now he's able to train even better than ever. The little things are making all the difference. He's only on the ascent from here. Submitted by: jjswim
August 22, 2010 Are we in danger to see another Thorpe-like retirement between 2 Olympics? Submitted by: likac05
August 22, 2010 Cheers for both of these guys. Give credit to Lochte as the only swimmer to really challenge Michael—the only one who believed he could beat him and match his versatility. Taking Phelps' 200IM WR last year was a major step. jjswim is right: Lochte had to overcome some major setbacks and challenges on his way to excellence this season.
Lochte won't diminish Michael's legacy, but from here out, he has redefined the game, the dynamic. Lochte cemented the fact that he fears NO ONE. He blew past Phelps this season, so that for the first time in a long long time, Phelps won't find his main competition by scanning his rearview mirror. He is chasing....and he may be feeling something he is unfamiliar with: fear of his competition. Submitted by: fluidg
August 22, 2010 There are a handful of swimmers who carried the sport this summer and kept it afloat during a post-suit hangover that could have flushed it out of the limelight. Our culture has a notoriously brief attention span, and with Phelps on a sabbatical, if no one had stepped up to the challenge, swimming was in danger of being swallowed by a big yawn. Thanks to these swimmers—especially Lochte—swimming looks ready for prime time. Submitted by: fluidg
August 22, 2010 How many golds do you think Ryan can get at the olympics? 7? 8?
Submitted by: google7
August 22, 2010 Allgood points, especially the one bout Ryan havingbeen outfthe wterfor six monhs and changing hisdiet.
As for how manygolds hecan possibly Submitted by: slickwillie32
August 22, 2010 I could see Lochte getting a max of 6 golds in '12 Submitted by: liquidassets
August 22, 2010 Didn't anyone notice how much thinner Phelps looked compared to Ryan? Look at Phelps from 2008 and look at him now. There is a big enough change which tells me he is lacking the power he had in 2008. Between now and Shanghai we will probably see his bulk returning and after that who knows. Submitted by: paddles
August 22, 2010 I can see Lochte getting at least 5 medals in 2012, with half of those being gold. Add that to his already existing tally of 6 medals, and the numbers are up there only exceeded by a few Olympic athletes in total. I believe he'll go down as the 2nd best swimmer of all time. Submitted by: mario2007
August 23, 2010 Right now, I think Lochte could get 4 or 5 golds in London. Two relays, one or both of the IMs, and the 200 backstroke. But two years is still a long way to go and who knows what'll happen between now and then. Submitted by: K.S.
August 23, 2010 I wouldn't be surprised if Lochte actually swims all three relays. Depending on his schedule and the strength/experience of the people who make the team in the second spot at Trials, the coaches might decide to use him instead of the second qualifier for the prelims of the medley relay. Either for the 100m free or the 100m back (more likely). The 100m back situation in the US is so volatile. We could easily have a situation in '12 where someone underperforms at Trials compared to their potential and someone else pretty untried internationally sneaks in. I'm not convinced that either Plummer, Thoman, or Grevers are actually better 100m backstrokers than Lochte (or Phelps, for that matter--his 53.01 from 2007 looks stellar compared to the results we've seen this year at PanPacs and Euros-barring Lacourt). Submitted by: mollie12
August 24, 2010 Right now Lacourt likes a lock for the Gold medal in London (possibly in both 100 Submitted by: mario2007
August 24, 2010 I'm worried about the men's 400 medley relay. The back end looks good but the front end (back and breast) feels dicey. Someone has to make a huge time drop. Submitted by: paddles
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