Why Did American Swimming Star Ryan Lochte Walk Into Depression? Reason Revealed

On the eve of US Open Swimming, Florida Gators’ fans might remember Ryan Lochte gleefully. It was Ryan Lochte who clinched the 2004 US Open High Point Award for the men’s event. The overall team performance earned Florida Gators their combined win in that US Open. After that, for Ryan Lochte, the rest panned as history. 

However, in a recent interview, Ryan Lochte raised the mental depression issue. The swimming sensation described his tryst with the problem. But the reason for his depressive experience came out as a shocker.     

Ryan Lochte describes his experience of mental depression 

In an interview given to Cheryl Burke on her talk show, Ryan Lochte admitted that in 2021, he went through his mental depression. The 12-time Olympic podium finisher accepted that his situation almost pulled his family on the brink of irreparable damage. He added, “Me and my wife. We were about to get a divorce. She was like who are you?” Ryan and Cheryl’s conversation has made it to the IG with captioning the gist of it. 

However, in that interview, Cheryl couldn’t guess the reason for Ryan Lochte’s depression. She thought otherwise. But the 39-year-old swimmer did not hesitate to add to the reason. He outpoured, “… I went through hard depression after I didn’t make the Olympic team in 2021.” Later, Ryan showed his despair after thinking about his situation in his depression time. He termed it, “f***ing pathetic”. 

The mental depression runs deep in the USA Swimming team 

Ryan Lochte didn’t forget to mention his former teammate in the US jersey, Michael Phelps. The swimming GOAT opened his hands whenever Ryan asked him for help. But that doesn’t make the Baltimore Bullet safe from the mental depression issue. The 23-time Olympic gold medalist also mentioned his share in the mental depression that came in his initial career, in 2004. 

Read more: On World Mental Health Day, Relive Michael Phelps’ Iconic Plea to Support Struggling People- “I Can Save a Life”

Caeleb Dressel has been another of the same group of swimmers who came out explaining the dark days of his career. Due to his mental health, Caeleb stopped himself from appearing in the 2022 World Swimming Championship. The 7 time Olympic Gold medalist is about to appear in the upcoming US Open Swimming Championship. However, his university coach Anthony Nesty blamed the extra pressure on the swimmer as the reason for his mental breakdown. 

However, Nesty quoted that the healing path is different for each one who suffers from it. Ryan Lochte has come out of it as a champion as previously he came out through his alcohol treatment.

Watch this story: Tiger Woods’ Massive Scream For Help Resonated With Michael Phelps’ Who Comforted The Golfer During A Dark Moment In 2017