EAST MEADOW, N.Y. — Ryan Lochte will swim in the U.S. Open Saturday, his first USA Swimming meet since coming off a 10-month suspension for that notorious gas station incident at last summer’s Rio Games.
All of that seemed a long time ago as Lochte signed hundreds of autographs and posed for hundreds of photos for an hour and 45 minutes late Friday afternoon — and into early evening — outside the Nassau County Aquatics Center.
“A bunch of kids showed up and the love and support I see on a daily basis through social media and on the streets, it’s just, I’m definitely blessed,” he told a gaggle of reporters and cameramen after the signing.