“If there was an 800 IM at the Olympics, I would be swimming it,” Ryan Lochte said, providing insight into his training ahead of the 2021 summer.
12-time Olympic medalist Ryan Lochte is firmly in Coach Gregg Troy‘s clutches. This is positive. The recipe is old, well proven, and Lochte’s training with a world-class crew which includes Caeleb Dressel, arguably the most talented swimmer on earth.
Lochte gets real in this GMM takeover of the SwimSwam podcast, and I’m bullish on Lochte’s prospects next summer after talking with him. We covered a lot of territory, so there is much to unpack here.
“At this point, with all of the work I’m doing,’ Lochte said regarding his 2021 Olympic Trials schedule, “400 and 200 IM, 200 back, 200 free, 100 fly…” You heard it here. Everything is on the table as of October 2020. I pushed back saying no one would fault him for dropping the 400 IM. Lochte dug-in regarding his schedule, saying “Yeah, the normal.”
Lochte, notorious for swimming slowly in-season, will race at the U.S. Open unrested. “I won’t race in a training suit. I will suit-up (in a TYR techsuit), but I’m tired (from Troy training).”
Lochte’s 36 years old, but 2020 will not be his last Olympics attempt. Lochte is well aware that Dara Torres had her best Olympic Games at 41, and that she competed four more years, nearly making Team USA in her mid-forties. Lochte bottom-lined his answer explaining that he’s the happiest when he is training. Moreover, he added that after the 2021 Olympics, he’ll take a trip with his family for a few weeks, then get back into water to start allover again.
Training with Caeleb Dressel, according to Lochte, is fun. Lochte can take him if the repeats are on a tight interval, but Lochte warns, “If he (Dressel) gets any amount of rest…” then Lochte’s eyes got big, surely meaning you can’t catch the 50m freestyle World Champion. (Side note: NBC should have Lochte provide commentary on Dressel’s events just to mix things up. Lochte’s got insights that entertain!)
Has Lochte considered his life after he hangs up his trunks? He has, and it makes sense. Lochte will stay close to his swimming family. He plans to own his own swim club and run a global swimming clinic series. Lochte laughed, adding “I’ll bring back the old guys, Michael Phelps, Aaron Peirsol…”
Lochte loves Aaron Peirsol, crediting Peirsol with teaching him how to be “chill” at competitions. When I asked if he loves him so much then why did he break Perisol’s 200 back world record in 2007, Lochte smiled, “When the gun goes off, all bets are off.”
Those are the highlights. My big takeaway is that Lochte appears to be very happy living and training in Gainesville. After his 200 IM win at U.S. Nationals last summer, carrying 20-25 extra pounds, he’s dangerous next summer at the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials. I did not think 400 IM was on the table, but considering Coach Gregg Troy‘s mantra of doing honest work, it appears Troy’s going back to basics with Lochte. In sum, 400 IM really is on Lochte’s schedule.
Final thought — and I do want to hear your opinions in the comments. Based on Lochte’s win last summer, I think he’s a 1:55 in 200 IM solely because he’s 20-25 pounds lighter. I swam, at my worst, seven pounds heavier, and it cost me 1.6 seconds in the 200m butterfly. What do you think?
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This is a Gold Medal Media production presented by SwimOutlet.com. Host Gold Medal Mel Stewart is a 3-time Olympic medalist and the co-founder of SwimSwam.com, a Swimming News website.
Fantastic interview Mel.
Thankyou!
Behind the scenes look at Lochte Dressel and Troy.
Win lose or draw Lochte is having fun and bringing it to the pool.
That in and of itself is the huge stoty here.
Having fun is what it all stems from.
Thanks again.
did he drink before the interview? I mean he is sweet and lovable but a little slurring
I have to say that i think that it is incredibly inappropriate that you were asking about Lochte’s exact weights and commenting on his body fat. swimming is a sport that is typically so centered around appearance and weight and i think that we need to steer away from that.
Great interview with one of the most iconic US Olympians ever. The real question is for Mel, “When did you sandbag sets as a collegian or National Teamer?” Is there a technqiue involved in sandbagging, good decinsion-making? Inquiring minds and all that. I note Ryan tried not to give too much away, but after many years with coach Troy, they probably have each other figured out. “All ut all the time” doesn;t work and we all know that.
Not sure what the 400IM competition looks like, but that would make sense for Lochte is he’s training for the “800IM”. His quotes about training next to CD and being competitive with little rest is informative. It tells me he has a good bit of endurance but probably has lost some top-end speed. And that makes sense.
As we age, we lose explosive, fast-twitch muscle fibers. We do retain slow-twitch, endurance fibers a lot longer. Yes, training at at olympic level lessens that fast twitch loss. But it still happens. There is a reason so few professional athletes in other sports are successful in their mid-30s and beyond.
It will be interesting to see what he ends up swimming. I… Read more »
This probably won’t be a popular ropinion but… I think one way of settling ledecky vs Dressel in the times they’ve produced is to note that in his 3 main events, Dressel has moved the needle approximately the same amount as Sjostrom has in women.
sjostrom’s 50free WR is faster than the world by similar margins to Dressel in the 50. Sjostrom’s 100free is probably a few tenths faster vs history’s fastest women than Dressel in the 100free. Dressel is more dominant in his best 100fly on the men’s side than Sjostrom’s WR, but probably not by more than 0.5.
Sjostrom also has that 50fly WR which is extremely out there, and I would argue leans this argument in Sjostrom’s… Read more »
Do we know if the extra weight is fat or muscle?
You get one guess.
I’d like to hear what event he thinks he’s most likely to hit a personal best
None would be the correct answer. Fortunately, he doesn’t have to to make the team.
Lochte said he’s not thinking times…just make the team. He’s racing to make Team USA.
My guess——- 200 IM will be his best event.