Does Ryan Lochte believe in reverse psychology? At this point, I’m starting to think that is what he’s trying to pull off with respect to Michael Phelps and his future.
If Phelps does not compete at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil, Lochte would conceivably have less competition swimming against him in the pool. Phelps insists he has retired from swimming and has no intention of making a comeback, but for whatever reason Lochte refuses to buy it. He reiterated his stance on Monday.
“I think we all know by now that he’s coming back,” Lochte told USA Today Sports after a workout for world championship trials. “I don’t think it’s really a surprise. It’s just a matter of when is he going to get back in the full swing of training.”
Maybe Lochte thinks continuously saying Phelps is coming back will convince him to stay retired so he can prove Lochte wrong. That way, Lochte can be the star of the show in Rio like he is on his ridiculous reality show. Phelps’ trainer, Bob Bowman, said he has been given no indication that the most decorated Olympian in history is planning to continue his swimming career.
“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Bowman said. “He’s really enjoying himself. He’s playing a lot of golf and I think he’s in good place as a person, and that’s real important to me, because he had a hard four years. I think it was tough on him. As far as the comeback, I think I’ll be the first to know, and I don’t know anything.”
Phelps is only 27, so a comeback cannot be ruled out entirely. It’s not as if he is too old to continue training. Either Lochte knows something we don’t, or he’s just playing a game with his US Swimming partner. Either way, it’s kind of annoying.
