Lochte not giving in to friend and rival Phelps

By Steve Ginsburg

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Ryan Lochte has no problems with good friend and rival Michael Phelps grabbing the pre-Olympic spotlight but when the duo hit the water in Beijing next month he will not concede a thing.

"I honestly don't care if Michael gets all of the attention," said Lochte, a gold and silver medalist at the 2004 Athens Games. "I'm like that guy who doesn't like to talk. I like to do my own thing on the side.

"We have a friendly rivalry. We're really good friends. But when I get on the blocks, I want to win."

Phelps, hoping to topple Mark Spitz's record haul of seven gold medals, and 41-year-old Dara Torres dominated the headlines at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials, leaving Lochte off to the side in his familiar best-man role.

The 23-year-old Lochte told a gathering of Olympic reporters he would not give an inch to Phelps, however, when the two were in the pool at the Beijing Games.

"That's one of the biggest problems for competitors, when they have someone like a Tiger Woods or Michael Phelps, a LeBron James or Michael Jordan, that they're going for second.

"We don't think like that. That's the wrong mindset, especially for swimming. I feel like I can win any time, against anyone, and that's the way I approach my races."

Lochte performed spectacularly at the Olympic trials, finishing a close second to Phelps in the 200 and 400 individual medley, as Phelps touched the wall with world-record times.

He also finished second in the 200 meters backstroke when Aaron Piersol equaled the world record that Lochte set in winning the world championship last year in Melbourne.

FREE SPIRIT

The fragile psyche of many athletes would be damaged with three second-place finishes heading into the Olympics but Lochte is a free spirit who takes life as it comes.

"I'm the kind of person who doesn't feel any pressure," he said. "That's the way I approach races. I'm relaxed. I'm never nervous. That's just my personality."

"I'm there to have fun. I'm just Ryan Lochte. When they say step up to the blocks it switches to Ryan the racer.

"Then after that, I touch the wall, I'm back to being Ryan Lochte. I like to skateboard, surf and have a good time."

Lochte said his laid-back persona drove his father crazy but it worked for him. A tumble while skateboarding just before the short-course world championships in Manchester earlier this gave him several ugly scrapes on his legs.