Lyin' Lochte Is Stripped of His Speedo. I Can Relate. Entrepreneur editor Dan Bova reveals how he was 'robbed' of his chance at Olympic glory 29 years ago.

By Dan Bova

Matt Hazlett | Getty Images

The Olympics have ended so you can go back to your regularly scheduled life of not caring about swimming.

I don't mean to belittle the impossible, inspiring physical feats of Michael Phelps, Katie Ledecky and Ryan Lochte's storytelling abilities, but come on, didn't most of us stop caring about who could swim to the other side of the pool fastest after our friend's 10th birthday party?

OK, I'm just being bitter. We all now know Ryan Lochte really wasn't robbed at gunpoint and was stripped of his Speedo. I can relate. Twenty-nine years ago, I too had my dreams of Olympic glory smashed to pieces -- I was cut from my high school swim team.

Related: Start Saving, Michael Phelps. The IRS Is Taxing Your Olympic Medals

Sure it was just one of the many teams I got cut from, which you might not guess were you to witness my height and 37 percent body fat in person, but it still stings like that green under-chlorinated Rio pool water.

Let me paint a picture for you: Sachem High School, Long Island, 1989. I was in ninth grade and at this point in my scholar-athlete career I had tried and failed to make the basketball team (again, height, shocker), the wrestling team (wait, you're not supposed to cry during workouts?) and my mom cut me from even trying out for football (she still held hopes at that point that my brain was something worth protecting).

So my likewise team-repellent friend Alex and I put our mulleted heads together and realized, "Wait, we know how to swim, let's try out for the swim team!"

The flier in the hallway said all you needed for tryouts was a swimsuit and goggles and a towel. No problem; I got those!

We showed up to the pool and -- wait a second: READ THE ENTIRE STORY HERE

Dan Bova

Entrepreneur Staff

VP of Special Projects

Dan Bova is the VP of Special Projects at Entrepreneur.com. He previously worked at Jimmy Kimmel Live, Maxim, and Spy magazine. His latest books for kids include This Day in History, Car and Driver's Trivia ZoneRoad & Track Crew's Big & Fast Cars, The Big Little Book of Awesome Stuff, and Wendell the Werewolf

Read his humor column This Should Be Fun if you want to feel better about yourself.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Business News

Amazon Tells Thousands of Employees to Relocate or Resign

Amazon says the move to bring teams together will make them more "effective."

Franchise

'Send a Man Next Time': How an Entrepreneur and Her Daughters Built a $2.5 Million Franchise in a Male-Dominated Field

After walking away from a CEO role in manufacturing, Becky Edgren launched a PuroClean franchise with no industry experience and turned it into a thriving family business.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.

Business News

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Will Make Nearly $1 Billion This Year Just from Selling Stock

Huang's $126 billion fortune almost entirely consists of Nvidia stock.