At the 2012 London Olympics, coach Gregg Troy led the U.S. men’s swimming team to 16 medals, six of which came from athletes Troy coached at Florida.
Team USA earned 31 medals in swimming overall, including 11 from former Gators.
The Gators accounted for nearly half of the swimming medals Team USA won, and Troy credited them for setting the pace for the rest of the Olympics, starting with former Gator Ryan Lochte.
“The first day we kind of set up things,” Troy said. “As a Gator, I was pretty proud of what we did. It set up everything for the team.”
In London, Lochte earned two gold medals, two silvers and a bronze. Although Lochte is now the second-most decorated American swimmer behind Michael Phelps, he didn’t quite meet his expectations.
“Some of that is my fault,” Troy said. “We’re about being the best you can be, and he bit off a real big program. Most people wouldn’t even try it. It’s hardly a lack of success, but we fell a little short of what we thought we could do.”
The former All-American had hoped to earn more golds and medal in all six of his events.
One of the races in which Lochte came up short was the 4x100-meter relay, when he gave up the lead in the last leg to drop the team to a silver medal.
“We were kind of in a staff scenario that he was the guy we had to go to then,” Troy said. “That shook him a little. He was always the anchor here at Florida, and he never got beat, so it was a humbling experience.”
After 11 Olympic medals, 41 World Championship medals and 10 years with Troy, Lochte is moving to California where he will prepare for the 2016 Olympics.
“He’s progressed to the point where he has all kinds of options, and the reality is things are much more available to him in a big city than they are in Gainesville, and the ideal place is on the west coast,” Troy said.
“I’d love to continue to work with him. By the same token, from a growth standpoint, he’ll progress a whole lot better if he has a little different experience.”
Contact Katie Agostin at kagostin@alligator.org.
United States' Ryan Lochte after his relay team's silver medal win in the men's 4x100-meter freestyle relay final men's relay at the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. The CW network said the swimmer will make a cameo appearance on the drama series "90210." Lochte will play a guest at a resort visited by characters Naomi, played by AnnaLynne McCord, and Max, played by Josh Zuckerman. The "90210" episode with Lochte will air 9 p.m. EDT Monday, Oct. 29
