PARIS, France — It almost seems weird to hear a powerhouse Olympic athlete talking about lint in his dryer.
But six-time Olympic medalist, Ryan Murphy, who trained at The Bolles School in Jacksonville, has no trouble just being himself.
Never an ego case, Murphy is consistently friendly. Murphy has reason to have an ego, though, because some call him the best backstroker in Olympic history. Bolles Head Swimming Coach Peter Verhoef says Murphy is approaching "legendary status."
Murphy and his new wife Bridget are experiencing life as newlyweds. Murphy says they have a good "mojo" going on. For example, he says, "She hates cleaning out lint in the dryer. So that's my job."
Bridget says she appreciates her husband's calm attitude and his attention to detail, even in what he eats. He's extremely disciplined. Would he ever eat a Snickers before a race? Murphy says, "Not before a race. No. My dessert right now is, and I have a sweet tooth. dried mango."
"I'm trying to be as perfect as I can," Murphy says.
For Bridget, who was a rowing athlete in college, it all makes sense. She knows how hard the training is. But what is it like to look at your husband's muscular photos shared around the world?
"I definitely feel pretty lucky waking up to that on a daily basis," Bridget says.
She says her husband is like a big teddy bear who doesn't see himself with the stature he has. She says he doesn't think about how wide his shoulders are, and sometimes "his shoulders will hit the doorway."
"He thinks he's this little cuddly human," Bridget said.
Murphy and his wife got married in California, where they both went to college at the University of California, Berkeley.
Their wedding looked like a storybook event, everything carefully planned. Ryan credits Bridget. But Bridget credits Ryan for his elaborate wedding proposal to her.
She was totally surprised. In fact, she still had her purse over her shoulder because she thought they were meeting to go to lunch.
Bridget says she'll be more nervous than Ryan watching him compete in the Paris Olympics.