“I think that level of confidence that you had in me”- Ryan Murphy thanks former swimmer upon receiving the Golden Goggles Male Athlete of the Year

Four-time Olympic gold medalist Ryan Murphy thanked former swimmer Matt Grevers after he received the Golden Goggles Male Athlete of the Year honor on Monday, November 20. While receiving the award, he shared an anecdote with Grevers from the early days of his career that helped him succeed in his journey.

American swimmer Ryan Murphy is a backstroke specialist. In fact, he previously held the world record in the men’s 100m backstroke. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, he won gold medals in the 100m and 200m backstroke races. That year, he set the 100m backstroke world record leaving behind Aaron Peirsol, who held the record before him.

Moreover, Murphy won the gold medal in the 4x100m relay race in a team effort including other swimmers like Michael Phelps, Nathan Adrian, and Cody Miller. In the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Ryan Murphy won his fourth Olympic gold medal in the 4x100m relay race. He also won a silver medal in the 200m backstroke and a bronze medal in the 100m backstroke race.

Recently, Murphy was honored with the Golden Goggles Male Athlete of the Year. He was elated to receive the title at the hands of his inspiration and six-time Olympic medalist Matt Grevers. Upon receiving the honor, the swimmer shared an incident from the early days of his swimming career that involved Matt Gervers.

"I think a pivotal part in my career was the 2012. I made the trials final in the 100m back. I was in lane 2 as a 16-year-old. I got to watch Matt Grevers and Nick Film and celebrate making the Olympic team."

He further continued,

"And right after that race, I was in the media Zone. Not five minutes later, Matt Grevers walks by me. He taps me on the shoulder and he goes, ‘You’re next kid’ and I think that level of confidence that you had in me, that little urge to believe in me, that’s something that really meant a lot to me at that point in my career and I really do think it propelled me to a lot of success that I’ve had. Go USA."

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Ryan Murphy overcame tiredness while training as a swimmer

Ryan Murphy at Fukuoka 2023 World Aquatics Championships: Swimming - Day 8

Ryan Murphy is considered one of the finest backstroke swimmers ever. He faced sudden health issues in his career after he fell sick in 2022. His muscle mass had also dropped 20 lbs. When Murphy got rid of his sickness, he had to train harder and longer hours to get better.

The swimmer revealed to Swim Swam in an interview that he was thrown off by the sickness. Therefore, he decided to train fundamentally which helped him to sustain his heart rate.

Lastly, he said,

"I'm feeling comfortable when I... when I kind of get into fatigue throughout the race. And then kind of from here, it's... it's getting a little bit more race specific."