"Opting for some rest and training at home" - Ryan Murphy pulls out of Pro Swim Series 2024 Knoxville due to sickness

Ryan Murphy has pulled out of the Pro Swim Series 2024, taking place in Knoxville from January 10 to January 13, 2023, due to illness. Murphy was listed to compete in the men’s 100m and 200m backstroke as the top-seeded swimmer, and also in the 100m freestyle ranked 43rd in the world.

With this, Murphy now becomes the second swimmer to miss out on the first Pro Swim Series 2024 after three-time Olympic medalist Regan Smith withdrew from the competition. Smith opted out as she felt that she wasn’t ready to compete yet, having missed a lot of training sessions after being diagnosed with mononucleosis.

Murphy, announcing his withdrawal, said:

“Scratching the Knoxville Pro Swim Series with @usaswimming due to a bout of sickness. Opting for some rest and training at home on my coach’s advice”

Ryan Murphy IG story

He posted about skipping the tournament on his Instagram (IG) story. Murphy also mentioned that he decided on the advice of his coach.

In an interview with SwimSwam, Ryan Murphy revealed that the Cal Berkeley training team came back from a high-altitude training session that took place in Colorado Springs. Murphy, alongside a few swimmers, started feeling sick during the last few days of the camp. He further said:

“Most guys that have been sick were 4-6 days out. I’m assuming I’ll be in that range. Basically just unfortunate timing for this meet.”

Murphy added that the swimmers who got sick needed to stay out of the pool for about 4 to 6 days. The 28-year-old believes that he will also require a similar break, and it is just unfortunate that this happened right before the competition.

At the Rio Olympics 2016, the American swimmer clinched three gold medals after winning the men’s 100m backstroke with an Olympic record (51.97), 200m backstroke, and 400m medley relay (with Michael Phelps, Nathan Adrian, and Cody Miller, clocking another OR 3:27.95).

He then went on to clinch three medals at the Tokyo Olympics 2020. On their quest for gold, Murphy, alongside Michael Andrew, Caeleb Dressel, and Zach Apple, established a new World record time in the 4×100m medley relay of 3:26.78, also breaching the Olympic record in the process.

Ryan Murphy named the Male Athlete of the Year at the 2023 Golden Goggle Awards

Ryan Murphy competes in the men's 200m backstroke final at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships.(Photo by Adam Pretty/Getty Images)

Ryan Murphy earned the Male Athlete of the Year at the 2023 Golden Goggle Awards, having collected the title back in 2018. In the year 2023, he was the only male swimmer from the USA to win an individual gold medal in an Olympic event at the World Championships. He did so by clocking 52.22s in the men’s 100m backstroke.

In an Instagram post, he stated:

"An absolute honor to be named @usaswimming Male Athlete of the Year. Thanks to all that have had an impact on my career!"

He also thanked the USA Swimming Foundation, stating:

Thanks to @swim_foundation for hosting #GoldenGoggles and increasing awareness and access to swim lessons across the country.

Besides this, he also won three medals at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships - a gold in the men’s medley relay, a silver in the 200m backstroke, and a bronze in the mixed medley relay. The American was also the world’s second and third-fastest swimmer in the 200m backstroke, and 100m backstroke events, respectively in 2023.