Ryan Lochte reacts to fans calling him 'unrecognizable'

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May 16, 2026 - 19:07

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Jun 18, 2021; Omaha, Nebraska; Ryan Lochte after the Mens 200m Individual Medley Finals during the U.S. Olympic Team Trials at CHI Health Center. Rob Schumacher-Imagn Images

Ryan Lochte reacts to fans calling him 'unrecognizable' originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Ryan Lochte is clapping back at fans who claimed he was "unrecognizable" in a recent video.

The 12-time Olympic medalist shared on Instagram earlier this week that he had accepted an assistant coaching position at Missouri State University. He reacted to the comments with a video on his girlfriend, Molly Gillihan's, Instagram, that showed the Olympian sitting on the couch looking at his phone.

“Oh, so they’re taking a picture of when I was working out every day, getting makeup put on me for photo shoots, back in, like, 2012 in the Olympics. We’re in 2026,” he said.

“What’s that 14 years? You think I aged?” he added sarcastically.

He then reiterated on the "unrecognizable" comment fans made.

“To be unrecognizable, I mean, I don’t get it,” he said, adding, “They’re all clowns, like, come on.”

Gillihan also got in on the joke as she captioned the video, “ Who is this guy pretending to be my boyfriend @ryanlochte?!? #unreconizable.”

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A post shared by Molly Gillihan (@mollygilli)

Some of the comments fans left read on his original video, "Literally does not look like him" and "Would not have recognized him."

Despite the comments that Lochte is brushing off, he is looking upwards in his new career. After spending 15 years as a professional swimmer, he is looking to give the next generation of athletes some lessons with his new gig.

"After spending half my life staring at the black line at the bottom of a pool, I figured it was time to help the next generation do the same thing," he said in the May 10 Instagram video. Swimming gave me an incredible career, memories, things I will cherish forever, but over the last couple of years, something so unexpected happened."

“I might actually be more passionate about coaching than competing," he continued. "Don't get me wrong, I had a pretty good swimming career, but honestly, I think I might even be a better swim coach.”