Celebrity Big Brother 2 spotlight: Is there any hope for Ryan Lochte?

The entire Celebrity Big Brother 2 cast is now official, and with that we’re spending this week previewing what to expect from many of them! Consider this article series your guide to understanding what each person brings to the table and also whether or not they have a legitimate chance of winning. In this piece, the focus is on Ryan Lochte, someone who probably could’ve been one of the more-decorated Olympians of our time were it not for Michael Phelps. Yet, the irony is that despite Lochte’s achievements, he’s still known more for headlines outside of the pool.

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Claim to Fame – Lochte, with 12 Olympic medals to his name, is the second-most decorated Olympic swimmer in history. He’s fantastic at what he does and probably doesn’t get enough credit for that because of Phelps’ own achievements. Yet, he also at times doesn’t get out of his own way thanks to some ridiculous headlines he’s generated over the years, whether it be his reality show What Would Ryan Lochte Do? or passing along a false narrative about an alleged robbery that took place during the 2018 Summer Olympics in Brazil. In reality, this was a cover story for a vandalism that took place at a gas station involving him and some other swimmers. He lost numerous sponsors in light of the incident, and more recently Lochte was suspended by the US Anti-Doping Agency over a prohibited intravenous injection, one that he documented on social media. (He has since denied taking any banned substance.)

Strengths – As you can see from everything we’ve spelled out already, Ryan’s clearly entering this house with a reputation and there’s so much more that we could’ve spelled out above, including protests at his first Dancing with the Stars taping over what happened in Rio. There may be a lot of people in the house with a preconceived notion of him and if he can make them underestimate his competitive prowess, that could be great for his game. He is certainly athletic enough to win almost any physical-based competition and he’s known as a bit of a bro — given how many men are on this season, this could mean allies for him.

Weaknesses – The double-edged sword that comes with his reputation is that there may be players in the house who don’t want to work with him. Also, we don’t know if he’s aware of how Big Brother works at all. The last thing we’re worried about with him is that he’s going to view this as just a chance to repair his image, which means that he’ll wander around on eggshells and not do anything controversial or overly competitive. We wouldn’t be shocked if he doesn’t go far just because he doesn’t want to try too hard.

Outlook This Season – We understand Ryan’s possible need for a redemption story, but Celebrity Big Brother isn’t really the place for it. We just don’t think he has the game prowess to do well, even if he’s at his most competitive. For him, though, we don’t really think he’s there to win anyway — he probably just wants a path to getting some sponsors back and to show that he’s changed for the better. Maybe he has, but we don’t think he’s going to be as interesting of a casting as he probably looks on paper. We actually expect him to be rather dull in the game.

Related – Be sure to check out some more coverage of Celebrity Big Brother 2, including some other spotlights

What do you think the chances are of Ryan Lochte winning Celebrity Big Brother 2? Be sure to share some of your thoughts right now in the comments. (Photo: CBS.)