Ryan Lochte will feel 'like a failure' if he doesn't qualify for Tokyo Olympics

Ryan Lochte is trying to make a comeback in the world of swimming by making the U.S. swim team for the upcoming Olympic Games in Tokyo. The 36-year-old admitted that he is feeling the pressure to qualify for his fifth-career Olympics, saying that he will "feel like a failure" if he does not make it.

"Everyone around me is putting a lot of pressure on me — more than I’ve ever had in my entire life," Lochte told Brian Burnsed of Sports Illustrated. "I feel it from everyone. Like my family. The people that live in this house. My agent. It’s just everyone. I feel like, if I don’t [make it], I’ll become a failure."

Lochte has had a unique career during which he has experienced a lot of highs and lows. Early on in his swimming career, he was seen by many to be a potential rival to Michael Phelps, winning a combined six medals in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics. By 2016, he had won 12 medals, making him the second-most decorated Olympic swimmer of all-time, behind only Phelps.

However, since 2016, his career has been marred by controversy and scandal. While he was in Brazil for the 2016 Olympics, Lochte claimed that he and some teammates were robbed and forced out of their taxi at gunpoint. This became a national story, but Lochte later admitted it was not true, which earned him a 10-month suspension from USA Swimming and resulted in him losing most of his major sponsors. 

In 2018, Lochte was again suspended by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), though he denied taking anything prohibitive.