USA Swimming's Brett Favre is back, and Ryan Lochte — swimmer and psychic — couldn't be happier about it.
"I guarantee you'll be back before the Olympics,'" Lochte told Michael Phelps at the Golden Goggles Awards in 2012. "He's like, 'No way, I'm done.'"
Lochte's prediction proved right, as Phelps launched a comeback earlier this year, competing in April at the Arena Grand Prix, in Mesa, Arizona. This week, the rivals are entered in four of the same events at the U.S. national championships in Irvine. That's good for Lochte, since he told USA Today Sports that Phelps, who has 22 Olympic medals to his name, adds an extra level of competition in the pool.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"He's the toughest racer I've ever had to go up against," Lochte says. "It's a challenge because he doesn't want me to win, and I don't want him to win. We bump heads, and that's why our rivalry is so good. We have a friendship. Win or lose, outside of the pool we're going to be friends."
Friends with a score to settle. That 2012 Golden Goggles comment came with a friendly wager between Lochte and Phelps as to whether the retirement would stick.
"He owes me some money," Lochte said.
Jeah.
-
The rise in unregulated pregnancy scansUnder The Radar Industry body says some private scan clinics offer dangerously misleading advice
-
Democrats seek 2026 inspiration from special election routsIN THE SPOTLIGHT High-profile wins are helping a party demoralized by Trump’s reelection regain momentum
-
Film reviews: ‘Bugonia,’ ‘The Mastermind,’ and ‘Nouvelle Vague’feature A kidnapped CEO might only appear to be human, an amateurish art heist goes sideways, and Jean-Luc Godard’s ‘Breathless’ gets a lively homage
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstancesSpeed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governorSpeed Read
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditionsSpeed Read
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billionSpeed Read
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on recordSpeed Read
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homesSpeed Read
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creatureSpeed Read
