By Braden Keith on SwimSwam
American Olympic icon Ryan Lochte is selling three Olympic gold medals via auction site Goldin
“My Olympic medals represent memories I’ll carry for life, but now I want them to do more than sit on a shelf,” Lochte told People Magazine.
“I’m passing them on so they can help inspire and empower others. If these medals can give someone hope, fuel their dreams or help them reach their full potential,” he says, “then this is the greatest way I can give back.”
Lochte is auctioning off half of his six Olympic gold medals (he has 12 in total):
2004 Athens Olympics 800 free relay gold medal (current bid: $20,000) – Link 2008 Beijing Olympics 800 free relay gold medal (current bid: $24,000) – Link 2016 – Beijing Olympics 800 free relay gold medal (no current bids, opening bid: $20,000) – Link View this post on Instagram
The three gold medals are three of his four consecutive gold medals in the 800 free relay, excluding the one from the 2012 Olympics. The medals up for auction also do not include either of his individual Olympic gold medals in the 200 backstroke from Beijing or the 400 IM from London. Generally, individual medals auction for more than relay medals.
Lochte’s 12 Olympic medals ties him for the 13th-most in the history of the modern Games; ranked by gold-silver-bronze he stands in 18th place all-time.
Lochte last raced at the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials where his best finish was 7th place in the 200 IM. While he never formally announced his retirement, a knee injury after those Olympic Trials effectively ended his career.
He previously said in an interview in 2024 that he doesn’t display his Olympic medals.
The news comes days after announcing on Tuesday that he’s writing a memoire:
View this post on Instagram
Lochte, who is currently going through a divorce from his ex-wife Kayla Reid, has had an up-and-down career in the limelight, at one point starring in his own reality show called What Would Ryan Lochte Do. He also became the subject of a global scandal at the 2016 Olympics as the figurehead of a group of American swimmers that vandalized a bathroom in Rio and were held at gunpoint. He received a 10-month suspension from USA Swimming after the row.
In 2018, he was suspended for 14 months after receiving a retail IV infusion, which is not a banned substance but a banned method for its plausible ability to dilute any banned substances before a drug test.
He eventually admitted to battling substance abuse and checked himself into a recovery center, posting in September that he was 54 days sober.
While Olympic medals do come up for auction from time-to-time, they are often backup medals made in case of ties or from long-passed Olympians. For an Olympic medal from an athlete of this prestige to go to the auction block is incredibly rare and should fetch a high price.
The most famous swimming medal to ever go to auction is from Anthony Ervin, who sold his 2000 Olympic gold medal in the 50 free in 2005 to raise money for the Tsunami Relief Fund to help recovery in Japan from the devastating 2004 tsunami and earthquake.
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