Lochte to compete in 1st major US meet since pandemic began

Ryan Lochte swims in the men's 200-meter individual medley final at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials, Friday, July 1, 2016, in Omaha, Neb. Lochte finished in second place. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) (Copyright by WSLS - All rights reserved)

SARASOTA, Fla. – Ryan Lochte is launching his bid to make a fifth Olympic team in the first major U.S. meet since the coronavirus pandemic shut down sports in mid-March.

The 36-year-old swimmer is entered in five events at the U.S. Open in Sarasota, Florida. The meet is being held next Thursday through Saturday at nine sites nationwide.

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Lochte is the top seed and current world recordholder in the 200-meter individual medley. He’s seeded third in the 100 and 200 backstrokes, fifth in the 100 freestyle and sixth in the 200 free.

The 12-time medalist is the second-most decorated Olympic swimmer behind Michael Phelps. Lochte has competed in few events since the 2016 Rio Games, where he won a gold on the 4x200 freestyle relay.

Lochte gained infamy in Rio after an incident at a gas station that resulted in a 10-month suspension. Since then, he’s gotten married and has two children.

He served a 14-month suspension that ended in July 2019 for receiving an intravenous vitamin infusion at a clinic in May 2018.

The U.S. Olympic trials are next June 13 through June 20. The top two swimmers in each event make the team for the Tokyo Games.

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