Swimmer Ryan Murphy’s parents are so immersed in their son’s sport that they can easily decipher its technicalities. Even breaking down a swimmer’s colloquial words doesn’t seem complex for them. However, their deep knowledge often leaves Katy and Pat Murphy tense about their son’s prospects, especially when there’s a lot of discussion about the mental state of professional athletes facing intense competition. In 2016, Ryan Murphy’s parents spent some worried hours during the swimmer’s first Olympic endeavor. However, in 2024, both Katy and Pat can hope for better conditions.

This year, Ryan Murphy is expecting a better outcome compared to his 2021 outing when he missed out on individual gold medals in backstroke events. Alongside him, his parents are revisiting the same book written by 8-year-old Ryan. Will he be able to fulfill his promise again, made on those yellowed pages of his diary?

All about Ryan Murphy’s dad and mom

Ryan Murphy’s sporting journey started with his siblings and parents. His siblings, Shannon and Patrick, both have a history of swimming, while Katy and Pat have played their roles as catalysts from time to time. This was evident when Pat volunteered as a soccer coach for Patrick and Ryan, and Katy acted as the team mom whenever the Murphy kids changed their sport before settling in swimming. Professionally, Katy Murphy is a math teacher, and she believes that her rational thinking has always helped ease Ryan.

Based on her analytical approach, Ryan’s mom tried to decode the Olympian’s matters with the development when he was still in school. “It’s taken me a while to realize that there isn’t always a reason for things to not go as planned. As far as how I tried to help Ryan, I would simply listen if he wanted to talk, or give him a hug and tell him I loved him and not talk about it. And, ice cream always helped!” the mom claimed. Eventually, in his budding years in Jacksonville, he never shied away from challenging seniors, as pointed out by his elder brother, Patrick. However, when Ryan Murphy went to Rio to fulfill his Olympic dream, his parents feared the situation.

Murphy’s childhood promise to his parents

Ryan Murphy has never believed in prophecy. However, at the age of 8, the youngest member of the Murphy family wrote a small book titled “My Swimming Life”. It was during those early days when little Ryan began to experience victory, despite his small physique. In the book, he poured his swimming desires onto the ink-filled pages. He wrote there, “I hope my swimming life continues and I become an Olympian when I grow up. I hope I will break the world records. I want to be the best swimmer in the world. THE END!!!!!”

In the Rio Olympics, Ryan Murphy turned almost every promise into reality. He broke Aaron Peirsol’s world record in the 100m backstroke with his split time in the relay event and played a major role in breaking the Olympic record in that team relay event. Furthermore, in the 100m backstroke event, he recorded an astonishing time of 51.97 seconds, setting another Olympic record. In the 200m backstroke event, Ryan also won Olympic gold, finishing in 1:53.62 minutes. The IOC named him a star of the Rio Olympics. However, his parents were almost overwhelmed when they met him in the Games village.

According to regulations, Ryan’s family received little time to meet with him in Rio. Overwhelmed by the gathering of fans, they missed seeing their son among them. However, in Tokyo, only a telephone call saved the connection. Now, in Paris, the parents are hoping for a better outcome. Regardless, they are overjoyed by their son’s performance. After all, he fulfilled everything he had promised in his little book two decades ago.