This time in the 100m backstroke event in the men’s category, Ryan Murphy has a lot of possibilities to bring the Olympic gold from Paris. Last time, he had to remain satisfied with the bronze medals as the Russian swimmers took up the top two podiums. But this time, in their absence, the American swimmer is expected to repeat his Rio Olympics success where he earned the gold in the event. Ryan Murphy keeps his fingers crossed when such a topic comes before him. However, today he earned his Paris Olympics ticket in the 100m backstroke event and spoke about his excitement.

The Paris Olympics will be Ryan’s third Olympic appearance, and he will enter as the favorite. But after the Paris Olympics, things had not been the same for him. The failure to get the individual gold took a toll on him. Describing that part, the four-time Olympic champion said, “I was going to throw up”. Meanwhile, the severe comparison with Michael Phelps throughout the years did not do any good for Ryan. However, he has yet to give up on his motivation, which helps him to remain on the path to glory. Additionally, his family has remained a rock behind him in this timeline. But what did happen to him that left him alone in Michael Phelps’ shadow? 

Ryan Murphy has had his moments with the Flying Fish in the 2016 Rio Olympics. Both swimmers worked in tandem to bring laurels to Team USA in the swimming department. Their effort was exemplified in the 4x100m relay final when Phelps and Murphy teamed up and won the gold medal. Since then, the comparison between these two American swimmers started to catch air. However, in the Tokyo Olympics, Ryan failed to add a further chapter to that comparison as he could not repeat his Rio success in the individual events. Now, 3 years later, the former world record holder has set a goal for him that may place him away from anyone’s reach. 

Ryan Murphy wants to place his hand on both 100m and 200m backstroke gold in the Paris Olympics. In nurturing his wish, he once said, “I like the idea of trying to do things that no one’s ever done before.” But at the same time, he relished his thinking about improving his performance in the upcoming days. Today his performance may give him relief on that aspect. Meanwhile, he has his certificate from the Olympic legend. 

Michael Phelps counts on Ryan Murphy to take the legacy on 

Michael Phelps surely keeps an eye on his successors in the USA Swimming camp. It came out public when he texted Ryan Murphy, congratulating him for his achievement in the 2022 World Championships. At the onset of his victory in the 200m backstroke event, Ryan felt the text as his prize. Explaining his emotion over the text, the Chicago native swimmer said, “About Phelps, [he] doesn’t normally text me, but he texted me and I was talking to him about it. It’s just like the talent and I think it’s kind of due to a guy like Phelps”. However, at the same world championship, Ryan missed his chance to make the double in the backstroke events. 

But Phelps’ texts remained in his aesthetics as a booster. In the past, he had a similar kind of moment when Michael Phelps spoke a lot of good words about the talent. “I’m always looking at younger kids, trying to give them advice where they want it and where I see it,” the legend added. Ryan Murphy has been fairly profited from such timely inputs. Now, shedding all the gloomy parts, he will surely be looking forward to achieving his ultimatum.