--- --- # The Internet Is Swooning Over Olympic Medalist Swimmer Ryan Held's Tears of Joy by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Aug 8, 2016 7:43 PM UTC by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Aug 8, 2016 7:43 PM UTC The Internet is falling in love with first-time Olympian swimmer [Ryan Held](http://time.com/4442088/rio-2016-olympics-swimming-what-to-watch/) who won a gold medal together with [Michael Phelps](http://time.com/4443261/rio-2016-olympics-michael-phelps-son/), Caeleb Dressel and Nathan Adrian on Sunday. It wasn’t just his excellent time in the third leg of the 4×100 relay that captured the hearts of people on the Internet who are currently determined to marry him. It was his tears, totally understandable for an athlete who just pulled off the ultimate triumph. They’re also totally endearing for the folks at home who are planning their weddings with the emotive athlete. After the event, the team took to the podium and Held was fine until the National Anthem blared and then the tears started coming. “I’ve heard the national anthem thousands of times before, but there was something different about this one,” he told the [Charlotte Observer](http://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/scott-fowler/article94316562.html). “I just couldn’t hold back the tears.” Phelps, Olympic regular who accepted his 19th gold medal while his son snoozed, just laughed and held him tenderly.  RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - AUGUST 07: Ryan Held and Michael Phelps of the United States celebrate in the medal ceremony after winning the gold medal in the Men's 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay on Day 2 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium on August 7, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The gold medal is the 19th of Phelps career. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) Julian Finney-Getty Images See the best tweets from his new suitors below. > [](https://twitter.com/GrettaFerny/status/762642652424613889) > [](https://twitter.com/JuliaRose%5FPal/status/762512225261146112) > [](https://twitter.com/rachaltschwager/status/762502476633296899) > [](https://twitter.com/haley%5Flando/status/762499419178545152) > [](https://twitter.com/KerrBearkru/status/762509362547990529) > [](https://twitter.com/sbstryker/status/762509063263399936) > [](https://twitter.com/gokendra%5F143/status/762499736557412354) > [](https://twitter.com/ZVad02/status/762639035743469568) Rio 2016 Olympics: Michael Phelps Holds Crying Ryan Held ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4443776/rio-2016-olympics-ryan-held-michael-phelps/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4443776/rio-2016-olympics-ryan-held-michael-phelps/"},"headline":"The Internet Is Swooning Over Olympic Medalist Swimmer Ryan Held's Tears of Joy","datePublished":"2016-08-08T19:43:50.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:46:35.324Z","description":"\"Pretty sure Ryan Held should marry me\"","url":"https://time.com/4443776/rio-2016-olympics-ryan-held-michael-phelps/","keywords":["Newsfeed","viral","Summer Olympics","2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics","Sports"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ashley Hoffman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"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/4443776/rio-2016-olympics-ryan-held-michael-phelps/","name":"The Internet Is Swooning Over Olympic Medalist Swimmer Ryan Held's Tears of Joy"}}]}] ```