Lochte back in pool after reality check

Ryan Lochte swims in the breaststroke portion of the 200m IM finals during Day Four of the Santa Clara International Grand Prix at the George F. Haines International Swim Center on June 2, 2013 in Santa Clara, California. (Getty Images)

Johnny Weissmuller came back from the 1924 Olympics in Paris with a chest full of medals, put on a loin cloth and starred alongside Maureen O’Sullivan in a string of Tarzan movies.

In 1932, Buster Crabbe parleyed Olympic swimming success at the Los Angeles Games into a lengthy film career, battling intergalactic evil-doers in the Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers serials.

Ryan Lochte came home from last year’s London Olympics with a five-medal haul — to go with his two from Athens in 2004 — and four from Beijing in 2008.

He wound up with a reality television show.

“Yeah, I guess times change,” the personable Lochte said Monday on the eve of the US swimming championships, which run Tuesday through Saturday in Indianapolis.

The eight-episode series, What Would Ryan Lochte Do?, aired during April and May on E!.

In it, Lochte didn’t swing on vines or match wits with Ming the Merciless. Instead, he worked on creating a fashion line, searched for true love and prepared for the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro.

“It was fun. It was a good experience,” said Lochte, who said the show enabled him get closer to his family — his mother, older sisters, younger brother and his nephews, who appeared in the episodes.

“Because of training and everything, I was seeing them maybe once, twice, every three, four months,” he said. “But with this show, I saw them once every week. It brought me and my family closer together.”

Like swimming, TV work turned out to be a daily grind.

“It was every day for eight weeks straight,” Lochte said. “Every day shooting, from when I wake up to when I go to bed.”

Still, it was a break from the high-pressure world of Olympic-caliber competition.

“I definitely needed it,” he said. “If I didn’t, I probably would have quit swimming in January. My body and my mind just needed a recovery.”

The life of a reality TV star had definite perks.

“You don’t have to wake up to go to the swimming pool. You don’t have to train,” Lochte said. “Going to red-carpet events, getting all dressed up to the nines in a suit and tie, the whole nine yards — I like that.”

Ultimately, Lochte opted to return to the chlorine scene.

“As much fun as it was, I had to stop all that and start getting back in the pool,” he said. “I’m still an Olympic swimmer. There’s other goals that I have in mind in the sport of swimming that I haven’t accomplished yet.”

It was no picnic. “I had some doubts when I first got back,” he admitted. “‘Should I just hang up the Speedo? Should I call it quits, or do I keep moving?’.

“I had to cut out everything, all my extra-curricular activities. It was just me, the swimming pool, and eating and sleeping. It took me about a month to get back into good shape.”

The national championships determine the USA team for this year’s World Championships in Barcelona, July 28-August 4.

Along with Lochte, the entries include individual gold medalists from the London Olympics like Missy Franklin, Allison Schmitt, Katie Ledecky, Dana Vollmer, Nathan Adrian, Tyler Clary and Matt Grevers.

Lochte is vague about his plans for the rest of the week, as well as the rest of the summer.

“I can’t really tell you my goals. The only other person who knows is my head coach (Gregg Troy),” he said.

The 28-year-old Lochte’s long-range goal is clear, however.

“The biggest picture is Rio in 2016,” he said. “Yes, I waited a little longer than usual to come back. I’ve got three years to fix whatever mistakes I’ve made in this past year. I have no regrets.”