“There was a ton of mental stress over the past three weeks,” Murphy said, about the postponement of the Olympic Games. “I am really trying to reset for what is going to be an intense 16 months. It is totally unprecedented times for everyone.”
For Murphy, postponing the Tokyo Summer Olympics was the right thing to do, in an effort to keep family, friends, and communities safe. He is looking forward to the world coming together in 2021.
He is excited to launch #RecesswithRyan this Monday. “It is good to partner with the Goldfish Swim School,” he said. “I’ve been asked by so many people about things that they can do at home. Goldfish and I are teaming up to serve those people. This is a great opportunity to talk to people that follow me and root for me, and it’s my time to give back. I am excited to do this, and hopefully, it can give people some optimism during this time. A lot of people are learning about themselves during this time so there will be a lot of personal growth that comes out of this.”
“At the Goldfish Swim School, I am always impressed with the quality of people. They have a knack for finding very talented, high-quality and nice people,” he said. “Goldfish is doing so much to grow the sport and change lives. Swimming is an incredible skill to learn, and it has given me the majority of my best memories. That’s why I am so passionate about pushing that initiative forward. The Goldfish Swim School is really top-notch, and I don’t view it as a sponsorship, for me, it’s really fun. Goldfish has built an incredibly powerful culture for their staff and students.”
Looking back, for Murphy, it was an awesome experience competing for the Los Angeles Current in the inaugural International Swimming League (ISL). “It was awesome,” he admitted. “Honestly, one of the things I am most proud of in the ISL process was creating a really good relationship with Lenny Krayzelburg. He is awesome. He is a very impressive human and a very impressive worker. I am really happy that we aligned in this and I can’t wait to compete for LA Current in the future as well.”
During the ISL season, Murphy was afforded the chance to speak at a middle school in Budapest, Hungary, along with fellow American swimmer Michael Andrew and Katinka Hosszu, who is known as the “Iron Lady.” “That was cool since I would only do appearances with American athletes since I’m in America 99 percent of the time,” he said. “Katinka Hosszu served as our translator so that was cool, and she did a really good job with the kids. It was nice to see her in a different element. You learn a lot about people when you see them doing charity work.”
“It is cool to see how it’s different in different countries and different cultures. The underlying theme is the same: swimmers want to give back and we want to inspire the next generation,” he added.
Murphy shared that he looked up to fellow Olympian Nathan Adrian for a long time. Adrian also competed for the Los Angeles Current in the ISL. “I’ve been at Cal for seven years now, and Nathan has been a constant during that time. I’ve seen Nathan almost every day for the past seven years. When you see someone that much, you get to know them really well. I have a ton of respect for Nathan,” he said.
He praised rising swimmer Carson Foster for being “awesome.” “Carson has a really bright future ahead of him, and he’s a guy that I am rooting for,” he said.
Murphy also complimented sports photographer and swimmer Jack Spitser for being an “awesome dude” as well. “We have great people in this sport, and Jack does an awesome job,” he said. “Jack has an interesting and unique style. I am super thankful that he has been around the pool deck. People like Jack Spitser and Mike Lewis push the sport forward. People love being able to capture a moment in a picture and they do a really good job with that.”
Most recently, Murphy appeared on Brett Hawke’s podcast, “Inside with Brett Hawke,” which may be seen below. Hawke served as the Assistant Coach of the Los Angeles Current in the ISL. “It is cool that Brett is doing that, and it’s a really good format,” he said.
Murphy defined the word success as “trying to be the best possible version of yourself at any given moment.”
To learn more about Olympic swimmer Ryan Murphy, check out his official website and his Facebook page.
