After what Ryan Lochte has himself called “The worst year of my career”, it seems as if the Gainesville native has turned a new leaf, and is finally beginning to settle into his home for the last 20 months.
As he says above, last year he could barely get into training with the SwimMAC crew. Between making appearances, being rifled with injuries, and trying to look good while doing all of it, the results spoke for themselves. Not by any stretch of the imagination bad; but not what we quite expect from the likes of Ryan.
This year, we have seen the the old Lochte rear his beautifully chiseled face, little by little. He has taken the 200 IM title at the last 3 stops in the Arena Pro Swim Series, and gotten faster each time. His coach Dave Marsh says that in practice, Ryan is starting to do things that Dave has never seen before. In the media room at Charlotte, Lochte was visibly at ease and beaming with joy at the pool which he is now able to comfortably and honestly call Home.