RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Ryan Lochte is competing in the pool for the first time since being suspended last year after he and three other swimmers vandalized a gas station during the Rio de Janeiro Olympics and then said they had been robbed at gunpoint.
The 32-year-old swimmer finished second in the 100-yard breaststroke in 53.92 seconds and won the 200 individual medley in 1 minute, 44.21 seconds on Friday at the U.S. Masters Swimming Spring Nationals in Riverside.
Lochte is banned from all domestic and international U.S. national team competitions through June 30 as part of his 10-month suspension. He will swim four more events this weekend and is able to compete because the age-group meet is sanctioned by a different governing body.
The six-time Olympic champion moved to Los Angeles after Rio. He has resumed training on the Southern California campus under coach Dave Salo. Lochte is engaged to former Playboy model Kayla Rae Reid, and they are expecting their first child in June.
Lochte plans to swim in the U.S. Open on Long Island in early August, which would be his first meet after his suspension.
The scandal in Rio overshadowed the final days of the games and the ever-changing versions of events that Lochte provided cost him major sponsors. Recently, he has signed new deals with swimwear maker Tyr and PowerBar.
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