RYAN LOCHTE UNDERGOES KNEE SURGERY TO REPAIR TORN MENISCUS

BY DAVID RIEDER

Ryan Lochte underwent surgery Friday to repair a torn meniscus, according to Instagram posts from both Lochte and his wife, Kayla Rae Reid. Lochte, who turned 37 earlier this month, hurt his knee while racing down an inflatable water slide, likely while playing with his two children, four-year-old son Caiden and two-year-old daughter Liv. Reid told the world the source of Lochte’s injury in an Instagram post, and she revealed the details in her Instagram story.

Lochte is less than two months away from coming up short in a bid to make his fifth Olympic team. After racing at the 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016 Games and earning at least one relay gold medal on each occasion — along with two individual golds and six other medals — he ended up seventh in the 200 IM at the 2021 Trials and then reflected on his attempted comeback in an emotional press conference shortly after.

Lochte is no stranger to freak injuries, including to his knees. He has suffered from foot, shoulder, knee and groin injuries throughout his career. Before his impressive 2010 season, when he was named Male World Swimmer of the Year by Swimming World for the first time, he barely competed in breaststroke and IM events all year after injuring his knee breakdancing, and when his knee was finally returning to full strength, he suffered a groin pull days before the 2010 U.S. Nationals, but he quickly overcame that to win National titles and Pan Pacific Championships gold medals in both IM events shortly thereafter. Then, in 2013, Lochte tore his MCL and sprained his ACL when a female fan jumped into his arms and the two fell onto concrete.

The five years since Lochte’s last Olympics have been tumultuous, beginning with his suspension for his role in the infamous Rio gas station incident, where he falsely claimed he and three U.S. Olympic teammates had been robbed at gunpoint, and Lochte was also suspended in 2018 after he posted a photo of himself receiving an illegal intravenous IV infusion, and that made him miss out on his chance at qualifying for any major meets in 2018 or 2019. Lochte also did a stint in rehab for an alcohol addition. ◄