Olympian Ryan Lochte unrecognizable in new look amid recent job announcement

Ryan Lochte 041326

Olympian Ryan Lochte unrecognizable in new look amid recent job announcement originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Ryan Lochte shocked fans with his new look following the announcement of his coaching position.

The 12-time Olympic medalist's appearance in a recent Instagram video, where he showed off his darker, longer, and curly hair, was noticed by several fans in the comment section.

"Literally does not look like him," one fan noted.

"Plot twist this is the Greek version of Ryan," another fan wrote.

A fan simply wrote, "Would not have recognized him."

While many fans were distracted by his new look, Lochte shared something else that has changed recently -- his job title. The six-time Olympic gold medalist is sharing his swimming knowledge with the next generation of athletes at Missouri State University. He will be taking on the role of assistant coach to the Division I men's and women's swim team at the college.

"After spending half my life staring at the black line at the bottom of a pool, I figured it was time to help the next generation do the same thing," he said in the May 10  Instagram video. Swimming gave me an incredible career, memories, things I will cherish forever, but over the last couple of years, something so unexpected happened."

“I might actually be more passionate about coaching than competing," he continued. "Don't get me wrong, I had a pretty good swimming career, but honestly, I think I might even be a better swim coach.”

"So I traded in my goggles for a stopwatch and I'm not gonna lie, it looks pretty good on me," said Lochte, assuring fans not to "worry" because he still plans to "say 'Jeah,' " (his signature catchphrase) and "will still over-celebrate" as assistant coach.