“It’s a Shame”- Wife Nicole Johnson Called Out Michael Phelps’ Rival Ryan Lochte for Taking Over Other Olympians Spotlight at Rio Olympics 2016

The Olympics happen once in four years. For an athlete, it is the home of ultimate glory after years of hard work and dedication. They love these moments and yearn for the gold medal. The same goes for Michael Phelps, who dominated the pool in his last Olympic Games. Bowing out in style with five gold medals, Phelps bid goodbye to the sport. However, during those Games, the attention was not on the athletes, but on Ryan Lochte, who committed a serious offense at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

The Brazilian police charged the swimmer after filing a false robbery report that left the media scurrying for coverage rather than focusing on medal winners. It irked Phelps’ wife, Nicole Johnson, who believed other athletes warranted their spotlight. Johnson opened up on her views about media, focusing their attention on Lochte rather than athletes who worked hard for success. 

Not impressed with Lochte’s misconduct

The 2016 Rio Olympics saw Phelps, Simone Biles, and Katie Ledecky dominating the Games with spectacular achievements. Irrespective of that, Murphy’s incident gained all the spotlight. Lochte mentioned how some men in a taxi with police badges robbed him and three other swimmers at gunpoint. However, visuals of the incident were out, and the four swimmers faced the security guards for wrecking a gas station.

As controversy arose, Lochte left Brazil for the USA while they took the other two swimmers off the airliner. This incident marred the Games as the media focused on the incident. Nicole felt disappointed for the athletes who worked hard to achieve their goals and spoke in favor of them.

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“It’s a shame they’ve been painted in such a negative light because of what Ryan did. I think it’s really sad that it took away from the other athletes that were there and worked so many years to get there,” mentioned Johnson, offering her support to other athletes. She spoke about how the media should have focused their attention on the real stars in Rio rather than the Lochte incident. 

Michael Phelps leads the way with other superstars!

As sports fans keep talking about Phelps, Biles, and Ledecky’s achievements, some other stars deserve a special mention. Ginny Thrasher won her first gold medal in the 10-meter Air Rifle shooting competition, while Kristin Armstrong won gold in cycling. Significantly, she became the oldest female cycling Olympic gold medalist and celebrated her success with her son. Likewise, Kayla Harrison claimed back-to-back gold medals in Judo. In 2012, she became the first American to win a gold medal in Judo. 

Similarly, another athlete who celebrated a sensational victory in the pool, apart from Michael Phelps, was Anthony Ervin. He won his first gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, then took a break, returned to Rio in 2016, and won another gold medal. He became the oldest individual gold medal victor in the swimming events. Another athlete, Michelle Carter, created a unique story after winning her gold medal in shot put. Her father, Michael Carter, won a silver medal at the 1984 Games, and the duo became the first father-daughter athlete to win Olympic medals.

Hence, they deserve attention. The 2016 Rio Olympics holds a special place in the heart of many athletes. Even though Lochte’s incident dominated the headlines, the Olympic medal winners made headlines for all the right reasons.

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