Ryan Lochte is a competitive swimmer. At Florida, Lochte was the NCAA Swimmer of the Year twice, a seven-time NCAA champion, a seven-time SEC champion, and a 24-time All-American.

Lochte is a 12-time Olympic medalist. (As of 2021) Along with Natalie Coughlin, Dara Torres, and Jenny Thompson, he is the second-most decorated swimmer in Olympic history measured by total number of medals, behind only Michael Phelps. Lochte's seven individual Olympic medals rank second in history in men's swimming (again to Michael Phelps), tied for second among all Olympic swimmers (all as of 2021). Also as of 2021, he currently holds the world records in the 200-meter individual medley (long and short course). As part of the American teams, he also holds the world record in the 4×200-meter freestyle (long course) and 4x100-meter freestyle (mixed) relay (all records hold as of 2021). Lochte's success has earned him SwimSwam's Swammy Award for U.S. Male Swimmer of the Year in 2013, the World Swimmer of the Year Award and the American Swimmer of the Year Award twice. He has also been named the FINA Swimmer of the Year three times.

He has won a total of 90 medals in major international competition (54 gold, 22 silver, and 14 bronze) spanning the Olympics, the World Championships, Pan American Games, and Pan Pacific Championships, including six Olympic gold medals and 39 world championship titles.