Arguably the two greatest swimmers of all time, Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte went head to head on August 11 at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. Sometimes on the same team, these two athletes got to battle it out for a chance to be on top.
First, I would like to give some background on these two talented men, starting with Michael Phelps.
Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Michael Phelps has been swimming since the young age of 7. One fact you may not know is that he was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and swimming was a positive way to let his energy out. At just 10 years old, he started training professionally and setting records. He competed in his first Olympic games at the age of 15 in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Although he didn't win any medals, he performed well and started his career. The World Championships in both 2001 and 2003 and the Pan Pacific Championships in 2002 proved successful, as Phelps won eight gold medals, four silver medals and held five World Records. It was at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece that he won his first Olympic gold medal. Since then, he has been unstoppable.
Up to this year's Olympic games in Rio, Phelps held a total of 61 gold medals (18 of them Olympic), 13 silver medals (two of them Olympic) and three bronze medals (two of them Olympic).
After competing this summer, Michael Phelps has gained five more gold medals and one more silver. This brings his grand total to 28 Olympic medals and 55 others -- 83 total medals over his 16-year career.
Next, I want to bring attention to Ryan Lochte.
He was born in New York, but grew up in Florida where his dad was a swimming coach. Although he did not take swimming seriously at a young age, he soon grew tired of losing in competition and as a junior in high school, there was a fire lit within. Lochte started his career in college at the University of Florida as a part of their swimming and diving team where he "was the NCAA Swimmer of the Year twice, a seven-time NCAA champion, a seven-time SEC champion, and a 24-time All-American." His first Olympic qualification was in 2004 at the Athens Summer Games, where he picked up a gold and silver medal.
Over the next 11 years Lochte acquired a total of 53 gold (four of them Olympic), 22 silver (two of them Olympic) and 14 bronze medals (three of them Olympic). Throughout his career, he has held numerous world records.
Now that his schedule in Rio is complete, Ryan Lochte holds 54 gold, 22 silver and 14 bronze medals. The records that remain in his name are as follows: one world record as a part of the American team and four individual world records.
In their head-to-head swim on August 11, Michael Phelps came out with the gold with a time of 1:54.66. With this, Phelps holds the all-time record for Olympic gold medals. But does this deem him a better athlete than Ryan Lochte?
As it is clear, both of these men have worked hard to stand where they do in their careers, having an impressive amount of medals to show for it. They both have gained much public attention and live as examples to many people around the world. In multiple interviews that I've watched, they have both said that they make each other stronger and push each other to be a better swimmer. I think that we can learn a lot from these two rivaled athletes.
Maybe it's not about being more successful than the other. It's knowing that with challenges, comes growth.
