--- title: Ryan Lochte: Olymipc Swimmer Shares Photos of Dyed Blue Hair description: The Olympic swimmer upped his hair game with a trendy ice-blue bleach job in preparation for diving into Rio's Olympic waters this summer. canonical: https://time.com/4433738/ryan-lochte-unveils-dramatic-new-hair-for-rio-olympics-2016/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-08-01T19:45:08.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:34:58.004Z og:title: Check Out Ryan Lochte's Brand New Look for the Rio Olympics og:description: The Olympic swimmer is ready for Rio — but is Rio ready for his new look? og:url: https://time.com/4433738/ryan-lochte-unveils-dramatic-new-hair-for-rio-olympics-2016/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Check Out Ryan Lochte's Brand New Look for the Rio Olympics twitter:description: The Olympic swimmer is ready for Rio — but is Rio ready for his new look? twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Ryan Lochte Unveils Dramatic New Hair for Rio Olympics 2016 > Sponsored content. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically.  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Aug 1, 2016 7:45 PM UTC  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Aug 1, 2016 7:45 PM UTC Ryan Lochte is [really into switching up his hair](http://time.com/4384279/ryan-lochte-is-all-grown-up-and-hairless/?iid=sr-link1). Swimming’s [reformed party boy](http://www.nbcolympics.com/news/ryan-lochte-back-track-after-us-trials-speed-bumps) and all-star says [he’s ready for Rio’s Olympics](http://time.com/4424414/rio-athletes/?iid=sr-link3), which kick off on Friday, and he’ll be attending the games with an unexpected new look. The 11-time Olympic medalist first took to social media over the weekend to share his updated hairstyle, a shocking bleached short cut with pale silver-blue tones. It’s quite striking against his tan (perk of spending all that time in a pool) and bright blue eyes. But why the blue? The swimming sensation has stayed mum on his rationale behind the switch-up so far, but we can certainly speculate: maybe he wanted to [get the merman vibes going](http://www.teenvogue.com/story/mermaid-hair-color-disney-princess). Maybe he was [inspired by Kylie Jenner](http://www.eonline.com/news/675057/all-about-kylie-jenner-s-blue-hair-get-the-details-on-her-custom-new-look). Or maybe it’s a patriotic nod. You decide: Lochte and his Atlanta-based hair stylist documented the dye process on their Instagrams, including a necessary snack break… … and a mid-process selfie. He didn’t undertake this adventure into the bleached-hair waters alone, however. His Olympic teammate Jimmy Feigen joined the blue crew, too. Lochte may say he’s “Rio ready” and [“more mature” than ever](http://time.com/4384279/ryan-lochte-is-all-grown-up-and-hairless/?iid=sr-link1) — but really, is Rio ready for him and his trendy ice-blue hair? 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