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What makes Ryan Murphy's parents most nervous watching him compete at Tokyo Olympics?

Can you imagine watching your child swim in the Olympics when in less than a minute he either wins gold or has his heart crushed?

TOKYO, Japan — Talk about anxiety.  Your son is in the Olympics.  You can't drive him to swim practice at 5 a.m. anymore.  You can't make sure he doesn't forget his goggles.

All you can do is sit and watch him compete for gold.  And in less than 60 seconds, he's either ecstatic or crushed.

Credit: AP
United States' Ryan Murphy celebrates winning the gold medal in the men's 200-meter backstroke during the swimming competitions at the 2016 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Ryan Murphy won three gold medals in Rio at his first Olympics. He holds a world record in the backstroke and he says he's "fired up and ready" for Tokyo.

Still, though, anything can happen.  

So what makes his parents, Pat and Katy Murphy of Ponte Vedra, Florida, the most nervous when they watch him?

They say the 100-meter backstroke, It's the shortest of Ryan's races and, as his dad says, "It is a pure sprint.  If you have just a little slip-up, you may not win."

What could that tiny mistake be? 

Credit: AP
United States' gold medal winner Ryan Murphy starts the men's 100-meter backstroke final during the swimming competitions at the 2016 Summer Olympics, Monday, Aug. 8, 2016, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Dad says, "Maybe you hit the water at the wrong angle and you don't get a good swipe of the water. It's such a short distance."

Ryan's mom says something called "easy speed" is critical. It means everything is clicking together. 

Credit: Ryan Murphy's parents, FNC

She says, "Sometimes if you're not swimming with what's called easy speed, you can try too hard."

Maybe a swimmer feels a bit behind and he loses easy speed. She says, "It's where you move your arms really fast to go fast, but because you don't catch the water as well--because you're not rested--you run out of steam quick."

Credit: AP
United States' Ryan Murphy starts a men's 200-meter backstroke heat during the swimming competitions at the 2016 Summer Olympics, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)

Ryan's mom explains, "Swimmers will call it, 'I died in that race.' They don't really die, but they get really tired and their body can't keep up the speed until the end."

And when we say it's a quick race, it is. When Ryan broke the Olympic record in Rio in an individual race, he swam the 100m  -- down and back -- in 51.97 seconds. 

In the relay, he broke the World Record. He swam the 100m in 51.84 seconds.

The Murphys will be cheering on Ryan from Florida this Olympics because families aren't allowed in the Tokyo Olympics. 

No matter what, they say, they couldn't be more proud of Ryan.

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