PARIS — After receiving the Olympic bronze medal in the 100-meter backstroke Monday night at La Defense Arena, American Ryan Murphy had a memorable surprise waiting for him.
As he walked around the arena doing a victory lap with his new medal hanging around his neck, Murphy’s wife, Bridget Konttinen, held up a sign revealing the gender of their unborn baby from the stands: “Ryan, it’s a girl.”
Murphy, who said the baby is due in January, later confirmed he hadn’t known they would be welcoming a daughter.
“That was the first time I heard,” Murphy, 29, told reporters. “Obviously, I knew she was pregnant. We both thought it was going to be a boy. Everything is going to be dedicated to that little girl.”
He added he was excited to be a “girl dad” and said preparing to become a father was helping him have perspective on his career in the pool.
“Up to this point, swimming has really been the most important thing in my life,” Murphy said. “Pretty much every major decision I make is with swimming in mind, and that’s going to change coming up. I’m really looking forward to what’s coming.”
It had already been a special night for Murphy who had become just the second man in history to win three career medals in the event, as he had earned gold in 2016 and bronze in Tokyo. He also tied the record for most medals by a man in Olympic backstroke events — previously set by American Aaron Peirsol in 2008 — and will have a chance to break it in the 200m backstroke later this week.
Italy’s Thomas Ceccon won the gold in the race Monday with a time of 52.00 seconds, and China’s Xu Jiayu took the silver.
