Ryan Murphy needed a medal Monday to achieve his goal of making Olympic swimming history — and he got it.
Murphy won bronze in the men’s 100m backstroke after taking an early lead in the race.
Murphy is aiming to do something no other swimmer has ever done at the Olympics. He is trying to become the first swimmer to win medals at three consecutive Olympic Games, in both the 100m backstroke and the 200m backstroke.
To achieve this, he needed Monday’s medal, which was in itself a historic achievement.
Murphy’s hat-trick in the men’s 100-meter backstroke makes him the first man to medal in the event at three consecutive Olympics since 1972. He won bronze in 2021 and gold in 2016.
If he wins a medal in the 200 meters later in the Games, it would be another hat-trick and a first in Olympic history – a goal Murphy had been pursuing since he arrived at the Olympics.
Murphy, a Palos Heights native, now has seven medals in total from three Olympic Games.
He will begin his journey to the 200 backstroke final with his heat on Wednesday, with the tipoff set for 4:33 a.m. CT.
On this episode of Hometown Hopefuls, NBC Chicago’s Alex Maragos speaks with Olympic swimmer Ryan Murphy. The suburban Chicago native shares his hopes for his third Olympics and how he got to where he is today.
NBC Chicago
