Ryan Lochte Puts Six Olympic Medals on Auction Block
Six Olympic medals – three silver and three bronze – won by American swimmer Ryan Lochte are up for auction this month.
The auction listing with RR Auction lists six medals as the “Ryan Lochte Collection,” which consists of three lots. Up through July 21, they include a silver medal from the 2004 Olympics, two bronze medals from 2008 in Beijing and three medals from London in 2012. They will be accompanied by “signed letters of provenance from Lochte.”
The medals were consigned by an unidentified third party to whom Lochte gave the medals. The estimated value of the three lots is north of $80,000.
Also for sale are a 14K white gold ring and a Breitling watch that Lochte bought for himself after the London Olympics.
Proceeds of the sale will benefit the Jorge Nation Foundation, a charity in South Florida that raises money to send children with terminal illnesses and their families on a dream destination trip. Lochte has worked with the foundation for the last decade.
“This year I really wanted to focus on giving back. I’m loving it,” Lochte told the Associated Press. “I’ve been teaming with my dad doing swim clinics and I’m coming out with my own sunscreen.”
The 37-year-old is tied as the second-most decorated swimmer in Olympic history with 12 medals. That includes six gold medals, which don’t appear to be part of this lot. He won those golds at four different Olympics.
The non-gold medals include silvers in the 200 individual medley in Athens in 2004 and London in 2012, to go with bronze in Beijing. He also won bronze in the 400 IM in Beijing and 200 back in London.
Lochte fell short of the Tokyo Olympics at Olympic Trials in the summer of 2021, which would’ve been his fifth Olympics. He hasn’t declared his retirement from the sport, though he didn’t compete at International Team Trials this spring and hasn’t taken part in a high-level meet since Olympic Trials.
Ok why ??? Is he hurting for money
I just came here to see why.
Ok … did you read the article? The proceeds are being donated