LOCHTE’S DOCTOR SAYS “WE DON’T WANT HIM TO PUSH THROUGH PAIN IF THAT WOULD BE COUNTERPRODUCTIVE” In a statement released through his club SwimMAC Carolina on Tuesday, Ryan Lochte confirms that he will not, in fact, be swimming this weekend at the Charlotte Grand Prix. “It’s disappointing, definitely,” said Lochte. “I was really looking forward to swimming in Charlotte now that it’s my home, in front of all of the SwimMAC fans. I still plan to be at the meet and will do my best to be a good host.” Team Elite doctor Jason Batley gave Lochte the advice to sit out of this weeken’ds meet. “We are going to exercise precautionary measures this weekend, as his knee continues to bother him,” Batley said. The letter goes on to say that he was experiencing pain in the left knee that was injured in November of 2013 in an encounter with a fan. “We don’t want him to push through pain if that would be counterproductive to ongoing recovery,” Batley said. “Whiel we want him back quickly, we want him back safely as well.” This is not the first knee injury that Lochte has had, and while previously he came back stronger than ever from an injury to his other knee, he’s now 29 years old and won’t recover as quickly. He’s already said that he thought maybe he pushed through to his first meet back, the Orlando Grand Prix in February, too quickly, and now team doctors are pulling on the reigns ever-so-slightly. Though it’s easy to presume that there’s a connection, the pain that kept Lochte out of the last session of the Mesa Grand Prix a few weeks ago was described as tightness in his hamstring by SwimMAC head coach David Marsh, as compared to specifically targeting the knee for the absence in Charlotte. Lochte’s next opportunity to race at a Grand Prix will be in June in Santa Clara, which is expected to be the best-attended Grand Prix of the season. SwimMAC often takes the opportunity to swim at local races, though, so there’s always a chance that we may see Lochte test things again before Santa Clara. Full SwimMAC press release: Ryan Lochte will be a host, rather than a competitor, at the Charlotte Grand Prix Charlotte, NC – May 13, 2014 – Ryan Lochte has made the difficult decision to withdraw from competition at this week’s Arena Grand Prix at Charlotte. At the advice of Dr. Jason Batley, Team Elite physician “we are going to exercise precautionary measures this weekend, as his knee continues to bother him.” Lochte was experiencing pain in the left knee, the same knee that was injured November of last year. Batley said “We don’t want him to push through pain if that would be counterproductive to ongoing recovery. While we want him back quickly, we want him back safely as well.” Lochte continues to train with SwimMAC Carolina’s Team Elite, which he joined in October, and will be at the Grand Prix representing SwimMAC and supporting his teammates. “It’s disappointing, definitely,” said Lochte. “I was really looking forward to swimming in Charlotte now that it’s my home, in front of all of the SwimMAC fans. I still plan to be at the meet and will do my best to be a good host.” Lochte plans to hold an autograph signing session during the event and details will be released as they develop. The Charlotte Grand Prix gets underway at 4 p.m. Thursday at the Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center in uptown Charlotte and runs through Sunday evening.
Posted on: Wed, 14 May 2014 05:30:05 +0000
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