Ryan Lochte won the 200-meter individual medley at the US national championships, fresh off a 14-month ban.
The 12-time Olympic medalist touched in 1 minute, 57.76 seconds on Sunday – 1.07 ahead of runner-up Shaine Casas – to earn his first national title since 2014. Lochte’s time was quicker than his time-trial effort of 1:57.88 in the event four days earlier, which didn’t count toward qualifying for the national team.
“This was a lot easier 10 years ago,” Lochte said afterward. “I’ve got a lot of ways to go for 2020.”
It was the lone victory and only final of the five-day meet for Lochte, who turned 35 a day earlier. He finished 37th in the 200 freestyle preliminaries, fourth in the C final of the 100 butterfly, and scratched the B final of the 100 backstroke.
The American was competing for the first time since the recent end of a 14-month suspension for receiving an infusion of vitamin B-12 above the allowable limit.
Lochte, who has brought home 12 medals from the past four Olympics including six golds, is attempting to make the US team for next summer’s Games in Tokyo.
In his time away from competition, the Florida native appeared on the US television reality show Celebrity Big Brother, and also sought treatment for alcohol addiction.
Lochte, who would turn 36 during next year’s Tokyo Olympics, won individual Olympic gold in the 200m backstroke in 2008 at Beijing and in the 400m individual medley in 2012 in London and won 4x200m freestyle relay gold in 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016.
