JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville native Ryan Murphy extended the U.S. swim team's domination of the men's 100-meter backstroke with a gold medal performance Monday night at the Rio Olympics.
It was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream for the Bolles graduate, who rallied from fourth place on the return lap to win with a time of 51.97 seconds, breaking the Olympic record set by Matt Grevers in 2012.
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His time was just three-hundredths of a second off the world record set by Aaron Peirsol in 2009.
Grevers, Peirsol and other Amercian backstroke legends had encouraging messages for Murphy ahead of his swim Monday.
“Those guys who have won in the past, those are my idols,” Murphy told USA Swimming. “I grew up watching them, and to hear their words of encouragement to me coming into this meet, that meant a great deal to me. It just gave me a lot of confidence to know they were thinking of me, and saying that they believed in me to do great things. Their support means a lot.”
Murphy also has support from his family. His parents, Pat and Katy Murphy, were in the stands in Brazil to witness their son's achievement.
“It’s just been a long dream of his to be an Olympian and to win a medal at the Olympics. His dreams are coming true, or have come true, which is just a very happy moment for us,” Pat Murphy told News4Jax during an interview on The Morning Show. “The whole entire family, because everyone has been behind him. This is really a family affair.”
Pat Murphy said his family has made many sacrifices along with Ryan as he worked toward his goals, but the outpouring of support from his hometown has been overwhelming.
“It’s so rewarding that all the efforts have come to fruition. I’m just so happy for him,” Pat Murphy said. “All of our friends in Jacksonville -- from the swim team they’ve swum on to the schools they’ve attended, to our neighborhood, just everybody has been reaching out.”
Ryan Murphy gave the Americans their sixth straight gold medal in the 100-meter backstroke, and China's Xu Jiayu surged to the silver in 52.31, while another American, David Plummer, stretched for the bronze in 52.40 -- just three-hundredths of a second ahead of Australia's Mitch Larkin.
It was quite a moment for Plummer, who finally made his first Olympic team at age 30. Now, he's got his first medal.
The Americans haven't lost the men's 100 back since the 1992 Barcelona Games.
He said Ryan, a first-time Olympian, has been embraced by the veterans on Team USA.
“That is huge for the young Olympians, the first time Olympians, that are on the team. We’ve got a five-time Olympians in Michael Phelps and then you have other multiple-time Olympians on the team. Those guys are embracing the young guys and bringing them forward,” Pat Murphy said.
Ryan's first Olympics isn't over. He'll swim in the 200-meter backstroke prelims on Wednesday. The final of that event is Thursday night. Assuming the Americans reach the final, he'll also swim Saturday in the medley relay with Phelps.
Ryan's former club swimming teammate in Jacksonville, Clay High's Caeleb Dressel, already won a gold medal with Phelps on the 4x100-meter freestyle relay.
Pat Murphy said after Rio, Ryan’s attention will turn to his upcoming college season and then to Tokyo in 2020.