Ryan Lochte's Bid to Make US Olympic Swim Team for Fifth Time Fails

Did 12-time Olympic medalist Ryan Lochte fail to qualify for the swim team the U.S. will send to Tokyo to compete in the Summer Games next month? As he’d put it, “Jeah.”

A polarizing star swimmer who likely would have been an even bigger one if he hadn’t competed at the same time as all-time great Michael Phelps, 36-year-old Lochte was hoping to become the oldest American male swimmer on an Olympic team but fell short of making a fifth trip to the Summer Games after failing to qualify in the 200-meter individual medley. Lochte finished in seventh place in his signature event, nearly three seconds behind second-place finisher Chase Kalisz, who grabbed the second qualifying spot behind winner Michael Andrew.

Suspended by USA Swimming and the U.S. Olympic Committee for 10 months after lying about being held up at gunpoint at a gas station during the 2016 Games in Rio, Lochte also received a 14-month suspension in 2018 for using an intravenous injection that was banned under anti-doping rules.

Making the this summer’s team would have given Lochte a a way to leave a different final impression and add a seventh gold medal to his collection, but he’ll no longer have that opportunity after failing to qualify in what was almost certainly his last chance at Olympic glory.

“I think this is probably my most important swim meet that I’ve ever had in my entire career, the one that meant the most to me. Falling short and feeling like I let everyone down was one of the hardest things,” Lochte told reporters on Friday. “I just want to do it for everyone and prove to everyone that I have changed, I’m a different person, my life has definitely changed.”

Holding back tears, Lochte admitted his days of going for Olympic gold are probably over.

“I’ll quit swimming when I stop having fun,” he said. “I love this sport. It’s gotten me to places that people dream about. So I’m very grateful for that. I’m still having fun. I’m finding different ways making swimming fun again. I still want to race. I still want to race, but as far as another Olympic trials, I don’t know about that.”