Ryan Lochte was looking forward to competing in the Olympics this summer. However, with the games being postponed until the summer of next year due to the coronavirus pandemic, Lochte will have to wait a little longer to compete against the best swimmers in the world. But he’s okay with that. Lochte was recently on Good Morning America and reacted to the news of the Olympics being moved back to summer 2021.
“As soon as I saw it I was disappointed. I mean, I have trained four years for this moment, and this is probably one of my biggest Olympics — that I have ever had in my career,” Lochte said. “But this is bigger than me, this is bigger than the Olympians. This is affecting the entire world. And right now our main thing is staying safe and staying healthy.”
Videos by PopCulture.com
Lochte went on to say that he will make adjustments to his training and will be ready to get things going next year.
“Training will never be perfect, and there’s always going to be something like a bump in the road, and that’s how us athletes train, and this is just another bump in the road,” he said. “The Olympics are not canceled. They’re just postponed. So now you have to adjust your training for another year, and just — trust the process,” he continued. “Everything happens for a reason.”
On Tuesday, it was announced by Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that he reached an agreement with International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach to postpone the Olympics. With coronavirus making an impact on the entire world, athletes can’t train right now, which would have made the Olympics challenging to take place at the end of July.
“The leaders agreed that the Olympic Games in Tokyo could stand as a beacon of hope to the world during these troubled times and that the Olympic flame could become the light at the end of the tunnel in which the world finds itself at present,” a statement from the IOC and the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee said. “Therefore, it was agreed that the Olympic flame will stay in Japan. It was also agreed that the Games will keep the name Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020.”
Lochte, 35, is one of the most decorated swimmers in Olympic history. He has won 12 Olympic medals including six gold. All of Lochte’s gold medals came in the last four Olympic games.
Most Viewed
-
(Credit: Rafa Jodar / Getty Images) -
NORTH BERGEN, NJ – AUGUST 23: Exterior view of a Walmart store on August 23, 2020 in North Bergen, New Jersey. Walmart saw its profits jump in latest quarter as e-commerce sales surged during the coronavirus pandemic (Photo by Kena Betancur/VIEWpress via Getty Images) -
TV talk show with female celebrity flat vector illustration. Woman sitting on sofa and talking with host, discussing news in studio. Videographers filming broadcasting. Television, interview concept -
A ring of vibrant marigold flowers with glowing candles at the center, set against a dark background. (Credit: Eduardo Monroy Husillos / Getty Images) -
Netflix logo is displayed during the 'Paris Games Week' on November 02, 2017 in Paris, France. (Credit: Chesnot / Getty Images) -
NEW YORK CITY – DECEMBER 19: "Toil and Trouble" – Elsbeth is thrown into the world of television after the showrunner of a long-running police procedural is brutally murdered in his office, and although it appears to be the act of a disgruntled fan, she begins to suspect the show's longtime star Regina Coburn (Laurie Metcalf) who yearns for artistic fulfillment. Meanwhile, Judge Crawford (Michael Emerson) continues to be a thorn in Elsbeth's side, on the CBS original series ELSBETH, Thursday, Dec. 19 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+ (live and on demand for Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers, or on demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the episode airs). Pictured (L-R): Carrie Preston as Elsbeth Tascioni and Carra Patterson as Kaya Blanke. (Photo by Michael Parmelee/CBS via Getty Images) -
Official promotional artwork for <em>The Voice</em> -
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 13: (L-R) Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom attend the 10th Breakthrough Prize Ceremony at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on April 13, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for Breakthrough Prize)
