"It's like a Magic Johnson and Larry Bird type of rivalry" - Ryan Lochte on his friendship with former teammate and rival Michael Phelps
Ryan Lochte is one of the most famous swimmers known for his in-the-pool accolades as well as out-of-the-pool controversies. But he has achieved so much more in the swimming arena, which should definitely be taken into consideration.
Most swimming fans know about the long history between Phelps and Ryan, who are rivals as well as long-term friends. In 2020, Graham Bensinger sat with Ryan Lochte to discuss various things. One such conversation they had was about Ryan's friendship with Michael Phelps.
Graham asked Ryan how he would describe the competitiveness between him and the GOAT Olympian. Ryan said their friendship was like the rivalry between the two famous basketball players, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. Lochte claimed he had so much fun because it was Michael Phelps.
Lochte said:
"I want to say because I was part of it. It's like a Magic Johnson and Larry Bird type of rivalry. I mean, it was awesome. I had so much fun. Because it's Michael Phelps, the best swimmer ever. And I was in his era and I was able to beat him. And he was beating me. We were just going back and forth and we respected each other so much."
The New York-born swimmer said he was in the era of Phelps and was able to defeat him and vice versa. The 12-time Olympic medalist stated that he and Michael Phelps have immense respect for each other. He added that the GOAT Olympian had been through a lot and had overcome it.
Ryan Lochte speaks about his friendship with Michael Phelps
Further into the interview, Graham Bensinger and Ryan Lochte continued discussing his friendship with Michael Phelps. Graham asked Lochte what he and Phelps talked about.
Ryan said,
After Rio and everything, I was in a dark place and I was just reaching out being like, 'I need help, somebody help me', and he was giving me advice.
The swimmer said that after the controversial incident in Rio and other outside things, he was in a dark place. He was reaching out for help and Phelps was giving him advice. Ryan was uncertain how to get back into the water and train for his goals while everyone thought poorly of him after the 2016 incident.
Lochte said Phelps asked him to look at his family and set little goals. He told him to try the six beat kick (a swimming term used to mention six kicks for every one stroke) and call him a month later to explain how he felt after practicing it.
Reezy (Lochte's nickname) stated that he tried the six beat kick and his legs became rock solid. Ryan further added:
"I think I like him now, better than when me and him raced against each other. Yeah. Not just because I'm not racing against him, it's because he's grown up a lot. He has a family now. So, I honestly think like once you have like kids of your own, like life changes. He's here to help now."
Graham asked Ryan what the competition was like when he and Michael competed against each other. Lochte said,
"I mean, it wasn't like, oh, I'm gonna whoop you, like it wasn't negative. It was more like, you know you're gonna have to pull everything out of you in order to beat me, because I'm not gonna go down that easy and that's how our mentality was."
Ryan Lochte also stated that Michael often said that he was his hardest competitor because he never backed down.
He also said that he was awestruck when Phelps termed him his hardest competitor than when others complemented him. Graham asked Reezy if his results would've been better or worse if Michael wasn't a swimmer.
Ryan Lochte replied,
"I have to say yes and no, just because we pushed each other. There's been sets in practice where I'm like, you know, if Phelps did this, he'd go even faster. So I'd like push myself even harder just because I know he's out there training just as hard."
Ryan Lochte said the one thing he knew was that during the Michael Phelps era, they both just pushed each other and made the best swimmers out of one another.