“Like a Magic Johnson and Larry Bird”: Michael Phelps’ Rival Compared Their On-Field Relationship to Iconic NBA Legends

In sports, rivalry plays a significant role in shaping an athlete. And through these rivalries, the sport also goes through changes. Moreover, athletes keep bettering their times because they are determined to come up on top of the field. Swimming fans witnessed one such rivalry between Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte in the years leading up to 2016.

Although the most decorated Olympian did not have a productive Olympic debut in 2000, he would dominate most of his events from the 2004 Athens Olympics. It was a winning streak that the swimmer would continue into the 2016 Rio Games.

What did Ryan Lochte say about his rivalry with Michael Phelps?

In the 2004 meet, the crowd saw another swimmer make his mark in the events. The budding swimmer was Lochte, and he secured gold and a silver in the meet. Although it was nowhere near Phelps’ eight-medal haul, he exhibited the skill and ability to give the Flying Fish a run for his money.

There began a rivalry that would continue till the 2016 Rio Olympics. However, it did not make the crowd uncomfortable, but the spectators welcomed their rivalry enthusiastically. Moreover, they looked forward to seeing the two swimmers competing against each other.

During an interview, Lochte addressed it himself. He said, “I want to say because I was a part of it. It’s like a Magic Johnson and Larry Bird-type rivalry. I mean, it was awesome. I had so much fun because this is Michael Phelps, the best swimmer ever. And I was in his era.”

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The swimmer added, “I was able to beat him. And he was beating me, and we were just going back and forth. And we respected each other so much.”

Phelps vs. Lochte: Who wins?

In subsequent meets, the world saw the two swimmers going neck and neck in a bit to come out dominant in the events. Although the outcomes were nail-bitingly close, Lochte mostly had the odds stacked against him. During their careers, the Baltimore Bullet and the platinum-haired swimmer competed in five events against each other. But Lochte got the upper hand in only of them.

Phelps came out victorious in each one of those events except the one where he did not. But in sports, as much as it is about the hardware, the spirit one exhibits plays a significant role in determining the prominence of an athlete.

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The Baltimore swimmer has the medal tally to display for his success, but that does not make Lochte any less of a swimmer than the 28-time Olympic medalist. Besides, 12 Olympic medals are no minor feats for a swimmer.