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 On dry land, the pair are good friends and have been on the same
teams at Olympics and world championships, but in the water, they
are the fiercest of competitors.
It's a friendly rivalry that has benefitted both men, forcing them
to push themselves to new limits in a bid to outdo each other.
Like Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer or Roger Federer and Rafa
Nadal, they share a deep and mutual respect but neither likes to
lose.
"Racing against Michael is probably the hardest thing to do and I
love it," Lochte said.
"l've been racing against him since 2004 and I know that every time
I go on those blocks and he's right next to me, it's going to be one
of the hardest races.
"I know he's going to push me to the limit and my body to places it
doesn't want to go, and I love that."
Like everyone else, Lochte was in awe of what Phelps did in Beijing
when he won an unprecedented eight gold medals but rather than
concede defeat, he used it to motivate himself.
Instead of ducking Phelps, he decided to take him on. He gave up
junk food and devoted himself to a brutal training routine which
paid off when he beat Phelps in two head-to-head races at the 2011
world championships.
At the 2012 London Olympics, Lochte easily beat Phelps in the final
of the 400 meters individual medley but Phelps turned the tables on
him in the 200 IM. In the 4x200m freestyle relay, they joined
forces, winning gold for the United States.
Although Phelps' total of 18 Olympic gold medals dwarfs Lochte's
five, Lochte is the only swimmer to have enjoyed any regular success
against the sport's most decorated competitor.
"It's a fun, friendly rivalry that we have," Phelps said. "I think
we just bring the best out of one another.
"When we get in the water I'm going to do everything I can to try
and get my hand on the wall before him in every single race and it's
the same for him."
RETURN OF RIVALRY
Their mutual admiration was evident this week when Phelps made his
comeback to competitive swimming after retiring following the London
Olympics.
It was just a relatively low-key meet in suburban Phoenix, but as
fate would have it, they lined up against other in the final of the
100 meters butterfly, an event in which Phelps holds the world
record and has won at the past three Olympics.
On the surface, there was little at stake and the pair engaged in a
little slapstick comedy, chatting and joking with each other.
Phelps had not raced for nearly two years and Lochte is making his
own comeback after knee surgery last year but like two heavyweight
boxers, the smiles disappeared and they started slugging it out as
soon as the starter's gun was fired.
Although Phelps was the undisputed king of butterfly before he
retired, Lochte beat him this time, getting his hands on the wall
first after a ding-dong battle that had the crowd on their feet.
Phelps congratulated Lochte and Lochte patted Phelps on the
shoulder.
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"I'm so glad he's back." Lochte said. "Me and him, we've got
history. "When he left swimming, it kind of broke my heart a little because I
love getting the blocks and racing him.
"Racing him against him is so much fun, it's a challenge and now
that he's back, I've got a big old smile."
By his own admission, Lochte struggled for motivation after Phelps
quit. He did won three gold medals at the 2013 world championships
in Barcelona but was losing interest and when he injured his knee
late last year, he thought about retiring himself.
"I was going through a rough patch right after the worlds, I wasn't
really motivated about getting back in the water then my injury with
my knee happened and I was like ‘you know what, maybe I should just
thrown in the towel now'," he said.
"But I didn't. I found that little spark that kept me going, I found
different ways of making swimming fun again and having Phelps back
in the water definitely helps because we're going to be back pushing
each other.
"I wasn't having fun, I wanted to quit, I wanted to hang up the
Speedos but with the help of my coach and my family and all my fans
pulling for me, I got back into it."
ANOTHER OLYMPICS?
Unlike Phelps, who is reluctant to talk about how long he will stay
in the sport in his return, Lochte has made it clear he wants to go
to the 2016 Rio Olympics, although he is unsure which events he will
race in.
And the 29-year-old, who is year older than Phelps, is convinced his
friend and great rival will be right there with him and be as
formidable as ever.
"One thing about being a racer and being in the Olympics and
swimming all those events, one thing you don't lose is the racing
ability, that competitive edge," Lochte said.
"He could have taken 10 years off and come back but he would never
lose that ability get his hand on the wall.
"He's a racer and that instinct will be with him until the day he
dies. There's no doubt in my mind that when he came back it was
going to be a battle because in any race he swims, he's going to
make the other swimmers hurt because that's what he does best, he's
a racer."
(Editing by Gene Cherry)
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