Former Gator Ryan Lochte cemented himself as one of the greatest Olympians of all time this summer, hauling in five medals to bring his career total to 11, which ties him with Mark Spitz for second all-time among male swimmers.
Lochte's five medals in the London 2012 Olympics tied him with Dara Torres for the most medals won by a Gator in a single Games and headlined an 11-medal haul for Florida swimmers.
In all, 23 Gators swimmers participated, including five from the 2011-12 rosters, while UF head coach Gregg Troy took the same role with the U.S. men's team.
Lochte was one of only five athletes in any sport to claim at least five medals, bringing home two golds, two silvers and a bronze.
Elizabeth Beisel claimed a silver and a bronze, while Dana Vollmer, who began her collegiate career at Florida, took home three golds, making her one of only six athletes to do so in 2012.
Conor Dwyer also won a gold, teaming up with Lochte, Michael Phelps and Ricky Berens to win the 4x200-meter freestyle relay. Lochte and Dwyer swam the first two legs, giving the United States team a lead that it never relinquished.
Lochte also won gold in the first event of the Olympiad, finishing the 400 individual medley in 4:05.18 ≠ó the second fastest time ever.
The early win set the tone for Lochte, who anchored the 4x100 freestyle relay to a silver on day 2 and narrowly avoided the podium with a fourth-place finish in the 200 free on day 3.
Lochteís final day was his busiest, as he claimed a bronze in the 200 backstroke and a silver in the 200 IM in races separated by just 31 minutes.
Lochte barely missed adding another gold to his haul, finishing less than one second behind Phelps in the 200 IM.
Beisel, a rising junior at UF, took silver in the women's 400 IM with a new personal record of 4:31.27. She also claimed bronze in the 200 back.
Vollmer, who spent her freshman year at Florida before transferring to Cal in 2006, won gold in the 100 butterfly with a world record time of 55.98. She was also a part of two relay golds, anchoring the 4x200 free and swimming the fly leg of a 4x100 medley that set a world record of 3:53.05.
Overall, Gators swimmers won six gold medals, three silvers and two bronzes.
Contact Greg Luca at gluca@alligator.org.
Former Gators Conor Dwyer (left) and Ryan Lochte (third from left) show off their gold medals after winning the 4x200-meter freestyle relay with a time of 6:59.70 at the 2012 London Olympics.
