Olympic medals are some of the most prized possessions an athlete can have. When medal-winning athletes return home from competition, they probably work quickly to find a safe spot for their keepsakes. Some probably store the medals in a trophy room, safe, or safe deposit box at a bank. But until they return home from the Olympics, athletes have to settle for some unsecured storage spots for their medals.
Swimmer Ryan Lochte, who won two golds, two silvers, and one bronze in London, has gone old school with his medal-hiding method.
“Right now they’re under my mattress in the village in my bed,” Lochte told Mike Florio, who was hosting The Dan Patrick Show on Friday.
Lochte assured Florio that the hiding spot isn’t as unprotected as it sounds.
“We make sure our door’s locked because not only my medals, but in our living area, we have a couple of other swimmers that have Olympic medals too.”
The 27-year-old gave himself an A- when asked to grade his performance at the London Olympics and says he always tries for an A. He also weighed in on Michael Phelps expected retirement, expressing skepticism that his teammate has swam in his final competition.
“He might retire for a year or two, or forever,” Lochte said. “But he could also come back at any time. We’ll definitely see.
“We’ve seen plenty of swimmers that retired and just missed it so much that they wanted to come back,” he added.
Even though Lochte has been overshadowed by Phelps’ extraordinary swimming ability, he would like to have him as a teammate during the 2016 Games in Brazil.
“Oh, of course. He’s the toughest competitor that I ever went up against. I always get excited when I have to go up against him because he’s one of the greatest in the world,” Lochte said.
The interview must have been a relief for Lochte because he didn’t have to discuss his mother’s one-night stand comment or talk about the sex at the Olympic village. And let’s hope his revelation doesn’t inspire a thief to sneak into the village and steal all the medals hidden under mattresses.
Photo credit: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports
