Why Ryan Lochte never trained with Michael Phelps

Ryan Lochte never trained with Olympic legend Michael Phelps despite the two athletes racing each other on the world stage for a decade. Lochte has spoken candidly about why he never considered joining Phelps' training group. Lochte credits his success to the University of Florida's legendary coach Gregg Troy, whose program perfectly suited his training needs.

Troy pushed Lochte to surpass his own limits in ways that no other program could. Lochte found Gainesville to be a home away from home, where he thrived on outworking his competitors. However, even when he felt he'd outgrown Gainesville post-2012 Olympics, Phelps' training base in Charlotte didn't appeal to him. Lochte chose Charlotte himself, seeking a new environment with Team Elite.

Unfortunately, the coaching and training group that followed him to Charlotte didn't match the level he had achieved in Gainesville. Lochte admits that leaving Gainesville was one of the biggest mistakes of his career, highlighting the importance of finding the right environment to reach one's maximum potential.