Ryan Lochte, eleven-time Olympic medalist shares story behind why he made a decision long ago, to be so kind and generous to his fans. The fans in Minnesota are VERY thankful, as he patiently takes photos and signs autographs for many.
Katrina Radke is an Olympic Swimmer, Sport Psychology Professor, and Health and Peak Potential Expert. She is also Bestselling Author of Be Your Best Without the Stress.
… saw it last night at Grand Prix – Minnneapolis , Ryan Lochte signed autographs and had picture taken with every single fan up in bleacher section. He could head back to hotel early since it’s the last night but he stuck around until the last fan. As Katrina Radke put it: Impressive …
As Ryan says, sometimes it’s impossible to sign for every fan — so it’s neccessary to have people with you (coach, agent, handler) who can help determine how much time is reasonable given the time constraints of the certain situation. At a National Level meet, for instance, many of the higer profile athletes determine that it’s reasonable to spend 5-10 minutes signing for fans before heading to dinner and rest before the next morning’s events. 20-30 minutes just isn’t reasonable with racing the next day — which is why Ryan and others have people on their side to organize this sort of thing. Sometimes an athlete may stay a few minutes longer on the final night, as long as they… Read more »
I wish we could LIKE comments here! Kudos to Coach Yetter for a wonderful comment, couldn’t have said it better myself!
Thanks Paul. Great comment!
Yes, Ryan does an impressive job being kind to his fans.
This is just one of many reasons why I love Ryan. I was lucky enough to meet him and he was so gracious – it means so much to fans to have such kindness shown to them. Keep riding the Reezy train, people!
I kinda wish kids didn’t idolize their sports heroes or other heroes, or their fame, to the point where getting an autograph is so life or death. I even see adults fighting to get autographs, which totally makes me cringe. That said, that’s just my quirk, and I totally understand that that’s not the way the world works. So Lochte is awesome for remembering what it’s like to be 10 years old. He looks really tired, btw, so his times so far are pretty impressive!!