Ryan Lochte suffers knee injury catching excited fan

Ryan Lochte will be taking a break from swimming after suffering a knee injury in bizarre fashion.

The three-time Olympian and five-time gold medalist was approached on Sunday by a fan in Florida who was so excited she ran into him. Lochte caught the girl, but the two toppled to the ground. Lochte was injured because his knee landed on a curb, but the teenage girl was unharmed.

Here’s the word from Lochte’s publicist per USA Today.

“As a result of a freak injury caused by an unexpected fan encounter, Ryan has suffered a torn MCL and an ACL sprain and will be taking a break from training and competition. His medical team expects him to make a full and speedy recovery and Ryan thanks everyone for their well wishes.”

How badly do you think that girl feels right about now?

What a bizarre way to suffer an injury. Of course, we have heard of much weirder injuries than this. Lochte in particular has sustained injuries in weirder ways. He’s been hurt skateboarding, chasing his dog, reaching for his cell phone … this SI article details it all:

“I don’t worry about Ryan anymore because I know that regardless of what happens to him outside the water, once he gets in it, he’s going to swim fast,” says Florida strength coach Matt DeLancey, who has helped nurse Lochte through a foot fracture (scooter accident before 2007 worlds), an ankle sprain (chasing his Doberman, Carter, before the 2008 Olympic trials); a torn meniscus (break dancing, before the 2009 short-course nationals), a groin pull (practicing before 2010 nationals) and a strained MCL (reaching for his cellphone in the backseat of his car, April 2011), to name some of the injuries Lochte, 26, has sustained as an adult. “It’s just who he is.”

Oh, and Lochte has also hurt his shoulder falling out of a tree. Based on all that, I guess this injury shouldn’t come as a surprise. What do you expect from a guy who admits to doing stuff like this?

H/T For the Win