In order to channel his son’s excess energy, as he called it, into more constructive pursuits, Steve would make a contest out of everyday activities such as who could swallow their milk the fastest or who could beat the other in fetching the mail or the newspaper. “He hated practice, but when I said ‘OK, we’re going to do a time trial,’ he’d be the first one on the starting blocks.” “Ryan was all about racing,” his father admitted to ESPN Magazine. Local and/or family lore had it that Ryan enjoyed goofing off (and giving lip service to others) more than perfecting his backstroke. Shortly after the family relocated to Gainesville, Florida, Ryan’s father Steve (as well as his mother Ileana) decided on coaching as a full-time profession. Born in Rochester, New York, on August 3, 1984, Ryan took his first dive long before he entered nursery school. When sports-minded Ryan Steven Lochte was a boy, he did not take seriously to swimming. Team USA swimmer Ryan Lochte at Rio 2016 Olympics Unfortunately for Daedalus, an incredibly shrewd young man by the name of Theseus succeeded in killing the Minotaur and escaping the purportedly escape-proof maze. The two fled to the island of Crete, where Daedalus’ engineering skills were employed by King Minos in constructing a labyrinth to house a monstrous beast known as the Minotaur. Jealousy and spite eventually got the better of our master craftsman, who lured his unsuspecting nephew to the top of Athena’s temple and pushed him over the edge to his demise.Īs punishment for his crime, Daedalus and Icarus were banished from Athens under penalty of death. Soon, Daedalus’ customers began to take their problems to Talos. Before long, word got out that Talos was a genius whose talent outshone that of his uncle: he was credited with the invention of the first saw, along with the first potter’s wheel and the first pair of compasses. Because of his nephew’s unique abilities, Daedalus was forced to take Talos on as an apprentice. He was so intelligent that the citizens of Athens considered him to be the cleverest craftsman in all of Greece. It happened that Talos’ uncle Daedalus, the father of Icarus, was an extremely clever man. Industrious to a fault, Talos was quick-witted and eager to learn, whereas Icarus was lazy and indolent. On the opposing side, his cousin Talos (called Perdix in some versions) believed in the value of hard work. He could be found lounging about his quarters, endlessly admiring his looks and build. Vain from birth and pampered by wealth and privilege, young Icarus was uninterested in bettering himself. For our purpose, then, let us recount the myth of Icarus. The Greeks cloaked their stories in life-lessons known as myths. Defying logic, this specific Olympic story keeps to that premise: How an American gold-medalist, when confronted with a situation of his own doing, dealt with the consequences of his actions how the host nation reacted to this alternate version of events and how the whole dirty business got twisted out of proportion until what was heard no longer resembled the original event. In effect, they go in the opposite direction, namely by starting at the top and working their way down. However, there are some stories that are beyond the pale. And sports fans - equally obsessed with star power and starved for a good story - love to read about them. As trite as that may sound, the vast majority of sports columnists love to record the exploits of individuals from humble beginnings whose struggles to reach the peak of their profession have inspired a nation. Most Olympic stories begin at the bottom and end at the top. Banner for the E! Network reality show, ‘What Would Ryan Lochte Do?’
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