Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports
Ryan Lochte lives a #blessed life. He has 12 Olympic medals, six of which are gold, and a smoking hot Playboy Playmate girlfriend. He’s also got some cash to play with, evident in this monster tip he left for a waitress at a bar outside of Penn State’s College Station back in 2014.
Followed by the windfall of thirsty Penn State chicks once they got word Lochte was in town…
So ya, don’t you worry about Ryan Lochte. He’s staying wet in and out of the pool.
But on some level, it’s gotta eat at the dude’s psyche to know that no matter how hard he trains, no matter how many hours he puts in to perfect his craft, Michael Phelps has always eclipsed his greatness. In a niche sport that is only universally relevant once every four years, the second most decorated swimmer in history is always playing the Pippen to Phelp’s Jordan.
In an interview with NBC, Lochte addressed the pros and cons of swimming side-by-side with the best swimmer in human history, a dude whose beat him 4 times to 1 and has more Olympic medals than 91 entire countries.
When asked whether or not he’s glad that Michael Phelps is swimming in his era, Lochte candidly replied,
“My career would definitely be different. I guess you would say I’d be like the Michael Phelps of swimming if he wasn’t there.”
“I love a challenge. That’s why I do the events that I do, and going against him is a challenge.”
While it’s almost impossible for Lochte not to feel a bit of envy, I’m sure he was quite happy with having Phelps on his relay team, a partnership that put four of his six gold medals around his neck.
Now, back to Phelps…
[h/t Business Insider]