Twelve-time Olympic medalist Ryan Lochte revealed on Instagram this week that he had gotten baptized and rededicated his life to Jesus. The news comes amid the Olympic swimmer’s divorce and months after he revealed he had gone to rehab and was staying sober.
“I love sharing my life with my fans/followers. In this season of growing, I have learned that the only thing that truly matters is what God thinks of me,” said Lochte in the caption of his Nov. 2 post. “I made the decision to rededicate my life to Jesus and today I was baptized!”
“My heart is full of so much love and happiness and I’m just so thankful for everything God is doing and going to do in my life,” he said. “Thank you for all those who have loved and supported me throughout my life, you mean so much to me!”
In his post, Lochte tagged Canvas Church in Alachua, Florida.
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Ryan Lochte Celebrates New Season
Ryan Lochte is the second most-decorated male Olympic swimmer behind Michael Phelps, according to Britannica. Six of Lochte’s 12 Olympic medals are gold. In addition to his Olympic medals, Lochte has earned numerous awards in other major competitions.
Lochte has at times in his career been the center of controversy. During the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, he claimed that he and three other American swimmers were robbed at gunpoint. The truth later came out that he had damaged a gas station bathroom while intoxicated, and the United States Olympic Committee and USA Swimming subsequently suspended him.
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In 2018, Lochte was suspended for not acquiring a therapeutic use exemption for an allowed substance he had been infused with. He also went to rehab in 2018 for alcohol addiction, and that was the year he married his wife, Kayla Rae Reid. Lochte has not officially retired from swimming, but he did not participate in the Olympic Games in Tokyo or Paris.
On Aug. 29, Lochte posted a “positive life update,” sharing that he was 54 days sober. He said that after an accident he had in 2023, he went “fell into a really dark place” that involved depression, loneliness, and wanting to give up on life. Lochte was in a car crash in 2023, from which he suffered severe injuries and had what he called a “near-death experience.”
He told a podcast host later that he did not think of himself as overly religious, but after the crash he concluded, “God was watching me, and he was like, ‘It’s not your time.’” In Lochte’s life update post, the swimmer said that after the accident, he began abusing substances but has since checked into a recovery center and is now doing much better.
Twelve-time Olympic medalist Ryan Lochte revealed on Instagram this week that he had gotten baptized and rededicated his life to Jesus.Click to Post
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