Six-time Olympic gold medalist Ryan Lochte’s decision to sell off three of his Olympic gold medals recently earned the support of Michael Phelps. Lochte announced his decision to auction one each of his 2004, 2008, and 2016 gold medals just a week ago, with the bidding to be held at Goldin’s December Elite Auction.
Michael Phelps Shows Support for Ryan Lochte’s Decision To Sell Three Gold Medals
Phelps and Lochte have shared mutual admiration over the years, extending beyond the pool, and have been part of several successful campaigns of Team USA. Thereby, when Lochte received backlash from the swimming community over his decision to sell his gold medals, Phelps came to his former teammate’s support.
Earlier, Lochte had explained that his medals are a testament to the memories and successes he has experienced at the quadrennial games throughout his career. Still, he wants to achieve something more with them, rather than just using them as a showpiece. Sharing his viewpoints on the instance, Phelps took to his Instagram to comment on a post featuring Lochte’s decision to sell his medals.
In his comment, Phelps stated that the relevance of an athlete has nothing to do with the medals. The comment read, “Ryan’s a homie…. To me he’s saying he swam w passion and loved to race … for the love of the game… why should a medal define who you are?”
In addition to Lochte’s impressive Olympic total of 12 medals, he has also recorded remarkable successes at both the Short Course and Long Course World Aquatics Championships, as well as the Pan Pacific Championships.
Phelps Excludes Friend Lochte As He Chooses the Mount Rushmore of Great Olympians
Despite being the third-most successful swimmer of all time, Lochte’s name was excluded from Phelps’ Mount Rushmore of greatest Olympians. For his Mount Rushmore, Phelps chose one swimmer in himself, two track athletes in Usain Bolt and Carl Lewis, and one gymnast in Larisa Latynina.
Speaking at a recent conversation, 23-time Olympic gold medalist Phelps recently said, “I guess I say me. Larisa Latynina is a Russian gymnast. You have to say Usain Bolt and I’ll out Carl Lewis.”
Among the athletes Phelps named, he stands out with 23 gold medals. Bolt and Lewis have eight and nine gold medals, respectively, while Latynina also has nine. Phelps further solidified his status as one of the greatest Olympic athletes when he recently received Sports Illustrated’s prestigious Muhammad Ali Legacy Award.
