Swimming Star, Ryan Lochte, Family Secrets Revealed
Ryan Lochte, who is often referred to as “the best swimmer in the world”, is racking up gold medals at the 2012 London Olympics. Doing so, Lochte is bringing a lot of pride to his family name. The same, however, can not be said about two other members of his family.
Devon Lochte, Ryan’s younger 22-year old brother, was once a promising and gifted swimmer. According to MailOnline, Devon Lochte used to swim for the University of Florida as a champion freestyler. This was same swim team that Ryan had swam for during his college career. Devon used to dream of going to the Olympics and competing for the gold alongside his brother on the same relay team. However, Devon quit University of Florida’s swim team after only two years in order to “concentrate on his schoolwork,” says Martin Wylby. Wylby, a University of Florida assistant coach, helped train both Ryan and Devon while they were members of the university’s swim team. Wylby states, in regards to Devon, “He’d only scratched the surface, so you never know where the potential was going to take him.”
The news of Devon quitting the swim team after only two years is not the only secret that has come to light about Devon, however.
Devon was arrested for allegedly selling marijuana to a police informant earlier this year. The sale allegedly took place on January 10th but charges were not brought up until February 14th. Devon was accused of both possession of marijuana and intent sell, a misdemeanor and a felony in the state of Florida. Devon agreed to perform 200 hours of community service, rather than serve jail time. By July 5th, he had completed 75 hours and recieved special permission from the court to watch Ryan compete in the London Olympics.
But wait…there’s more. Devon is not the only Lochte who has had a run-in with law enforcement.
Ryan and Devon’s father, Steve Lochte, was arrested and charged for a DUI on April 11th, 2010. Officer Ben Tobias, spokesman for the Gainesville Police Department, states, ‘They (police) conducted field sobriety exercises and he was charged with a DUI on the scene.” Steve consented to a breathalyzer on the scene and blew a .207 and a .217, more than two times the legal limit. Tobias said that a misdemeanor DUI would mean that Lochte was stripped of his licenese for one year.
Ryan Lochte, 27, has a spotless police record to this day and continues to be an inspiration to many, despite having all of his family’s “dark” secrets in plain view.
