In every sport, two individuals stand tall. In soccer, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo push each other to greater heights. Likewise, LeBron James and Kobe Bryant dominated basketball for some time. In swimming, Michael Phelps enjoyed astonishing dominance. However, for every dominant swimmer, there is a person who pressured him to the limit. That person is Ryan Lochte for the Baltimore Bullet. 

One of Phelps’ greatest rivals, Lochte, enjoyed remarkable success inside the pool. Matching Phelps, stroke-by-stroke, he played a significant role in bringing Michael to the top. In a recent interview, Lochte explained how he considered himself Phelps’ number one rival. 

The charismatic Ryan Lochte

Although he was a picture of controversy at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Lochte’s achievements in the pool cannot go unnoticed. He pushed Phelps during his yesteryears and came out on top. In the interview, he explained their rivalry. “If you ask Michael Phelps right now who’s his number one competitor, it will be me. He’ll say it’s me and my number one competitor is him. We brought the best out of each,” said Lochte. 

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He has some striking takeaways, as Phelps was a symbol of domination. Ryan continued, “We know when we stepped on those blocks no matter what event it is, both of us weren’t letting down. You would have to bring everything out of us in order to beat us. That rivalry we had, just, I loved it. I loved racing against him because he was the hardest person to race against.”

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Although Thorpe and Phelps met once, they did not meet each other when Phelps was at his peak. Thus, Lochte had that title under his belt. Years passed as they went back and forth against each other, and during the 2011 World Championships, Lochte came out on top. 

Michael Phelps beaten

During those games, he won five gold medals at the Championships. Significantly, he bested Phelps in two head-to-head competitions at the meet. Ryan won the 200-meter freestyle event and the 200-meter individual medley. Besides that, he created the world record in the 200IM, which stands till date.  

After they scrapped the infamous shiny suits, Lochte set the first world record in an epic swim. These were some of the career highlights he had as Phelps became a part of some of the most iconic swimming races. Challenging Phelps at every step, Ryan Lochte played a crucial role in propelling Michael Phelps to the top. 

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