Twelve-time Olympic medalist Ryan Lochte has revealed the strict reasons why Team USA swimmers will not be allowed to leave the Athletes Village under any circumstances during the tournament.
On Tuesday, Lochte’s wife, Kayla, was answering questions from fans. Tick tock Someone asked why some players are free to leave the premises and others are not.
“What do you mean you can’t leave the Olympic Village? I see all the Olympians leaving the Olympic Village,” one fan commented.
“Not a U.S. swimmer,” Lochte, 40, can be heard saying.
When his wife asked why, Lochte replied, “Because that’s the rule for USA swimmers.”
“America has stricter rules than other countries, right?” Kayla asked.
“Yes,” the swimmer replied, and Kayla asked, “But can you go out and run some errands?”
“No,” the former Olympian said, adding that if athletes want to see family in the city they must get “permission from their head coach.”
Lochte is no stranger to the Olympics.
The swimmer has represented the U.S. national team in four games, the first of which was at the Athens Games 20 years ago.
He represented the United States at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the 2012 London Olympics and the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
Lochte has been victorious every time he has competed in the Olympics, winning six gold medals, three silver medals and three bronze medals.
Lochte’s comments came after former teammate and all-time winningest swimmer Michael Phelps expressed disappointment in the U.S. men’s Olympic swimming team this year.
“Overall, I was pretty disappointed with how USA Swimming did,” Phelps said. USA Today.
Phelps, 39, expressed some anxiety ahead of the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
“One of the things I’ve always said over the last few years is that the rest of the world is catching up,” he said.
“A lot of the things we’ve been doing for so long, I think other countries are catching up. They’re doing the same thing. Hopefully, we can make that transition as we get closer to 2028.”
Aside from Bobby Finke, who won the gold medal in the 1,500-meter freestyle and set a new world record of 14 minutes 30.67 seconds, the men’s swimming team fell short in several races.
It was a tough tournament for Caleb Dressel, who won five gold medals in Tokyo, including three individual events, but finished sixth in the 50m freestyle final and didn’t even make the final of the 100m butterfly, an event he won three years ago.
Ryan Murphy was also disappointed as he was unable to qualify for the 200m backstroke final.
Still, the U.S. team had plenty to celebrate.
The U.S. swimming team won 28 medals in total (8 gold, 13 silver, and 7 bronze) and set three world records.
American sensation Katie Ledecky added four gold medals to her total, while fellow superstar Tori Huske added three gold medals.
The United States won 10 more swimming medals than any other country.
