--- title: Rio 2016 Olympics: Ryan Lochte on Michael Phelps in Tokyo description: Lochte guarantees he'll compete in the Olympics in 2020 in Tokyo and says he really thinks Phelps will be there. canonical: https://time.com/4450025/rio-2016-olympics-ryan-lochte-michael-phelps/ author: Ashley Hoffman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-08-12T15:44:06.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:35:26.409Z og:title: Ryan Lochte to Michael Phelps: 'I'll See You in Tokyo' og:description: They may compete again og:url: https://time.com/4450025/rio-2016-olympics-ryan-lochte-michael-phelps/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5170d232e908b520/6988a2250a4a22f5179cae5f/michael-phelps-ryan-lochte.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: SWIMMING-OLY-2016-RIO-PODIUM og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Ryan Lochte to Michael Phelps: 'I'll See You in Tokyo' twitter:description: They may compete again twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5170d232e908b520/6988a2250a4a22f5179cae5f/michael-phelps-ryan-lochte.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Ryan Lochte to Michael Phelps: 'I'll See You in Tokyo' by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Aug 12, 2016 3:44 PM UTC  Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte celebrate on the podium after they won the Men's 4x200m Freestyle Relay Final during the swimming event at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro on Aug. 9, 2016. Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte celebrate on the podium after they won the Men's 4x200m Freestyle Relay Final during the swimming event at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro on Aug. 9, 2016.Martin Bureau—Getty Images by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Aug 12, 2016 3:44 PM UTC [Ryan Lochte](http://time.com/4448892/ryan-lochte-michael-phelps-rio-olympics/) says he expects to compete against [Michael Phelps](http://time.com/4446335/rio-2016-olympics-michael-phelps-katie-ledecky-photo/) again at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. On Thursday night, the two [famous swimmers](http://time.com/4449636/michael-phelps-rio-2016-olympics-gold-medals-lochte/) faced off in the men’s 200-meter individual race. It appeared to be the last dance of their 12-year run of bringing out the best in each other, as they like to put it. Phelps finished first approximately 6 million miles ahead of everyone, winning his [22nd gold medal](http://time.com/4449636/michael-phelps-rio-2016-olympics-gold-medals-lochte/), and Lochte, talented wingman with blue hair, started strong in the first heat, but finished fifth. Asked if he would swim against Phelps again, Lochte says he’s convinced it will happen. “You know what? I can definitely say that, because I guarantee he will be there,” Lochte told [TODAY](http://www.today.com/news/ryan-lochte-michael-phelps-i-ll-see-you-tokyo-t101776) Friday. “I think so. I really think so, so Michael I’ll see you in Tokyo.” Phelps recently told [reporters](http://www.espn.com/olympics/swimming/story/%5F/id/17211467/swimmer-michael-phelps-opens-door-compete-tokyo-olympics) that this was only his “potential” final Olympics, “just so you guys don’t beat me to death if I come back.” So it’s possible. Phelps and Lochte have been relay teammates and competitors since the 2004 Olympics in Athens, and Lochte often finishes second. Lochte [recently said](http://time.com/4448892/ryan-lochte-michael-phelps-rio-olympics/) that if Phelps weren’t around, “I guess you could say, I’d be the Michael Phelps of swimming.” Fingers crossed Phelps returns in 2020 so that together, they can continue to load up on carbs facing each other in twin ice baths, and ideally live lives in which neither of them has to say goodbye. \[[TODAY](http://www.today.com/news/ryan-lochte-michael-phelps-i-ll-see-you-tokyo-t101776)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4450025/rio-2016-olympics-ryan-lochte-michael-phelps/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4450025/rio-2016-olympics-ryan-lochte-michael-phelps/"},"headline":"Ryan Lochte to Michael Phelps: 'I'll See You in Tokyo'","datePublished":"2016-08-12T15:44:06.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:35:26.409Z","description":"Phelps and Lochte forever swim buds","url":"https://time.com/4450025/rio-2016-olympics-ryan-lochte-michael-phelps/","keywords":["Newsfeed","swimming","Michael Phelps","Summer Olympics","Ryan Lochte","2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics","Sports"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5170d232e908b520/6988a2250a4a22f5179cae5f/michael-phelps-ryan-lochte.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ashley Hoffman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5170d232e908b520/6988a2250a4a22f5179cae5f/michael-phelps-ryan-lochte.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"SWIMMING-OLY-2016-RIO-PODIUM","caption":"SWIMMING-OLY-2016-RIO-PODIUM","creditText":"Martin Bureau—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4450025/rio-2016-olympics-ryan-lochte-michael-phelps/","name":"Ryan Lochte to Michael Phelps: 'I'll See You in Tokyo'"}}]}] ```