Male Athlete of 2011: Swimmer Ryan Lochte

When thinking about U.S. swimmer Ryan Lochte, a few things come to mind.

"He's better than Michael Phelps."

"He'll win six gold medals at the London Olympics."

But regardless of what Lochte accomplished in 2011 - five gold medals at the World Championships was the highlight - he still sees himself at the bottom of the pool.

"I'm starting from scratch and I have to work my way up to get back up to the top," Lochte told us at November's Golden Goggles, where he won two awards. "I think that's what I've been doing for years now and I think that's what motivates me, keeps me going every day when I go to practice." 

Lochte's 2011 resume also included a world-record swim in the 200m IM at the Shanghai World Championships. For all the success he had in the pool, Lochte is Universal Sports' 2011 Male Athlete of the Year. Click here for highlights of Lochte's season, or see the video to the right.

The aforementioned swim was the first long course world record to fall since the advent of FINA's new swimsuit rules at the start of 2010. And two of Lochte's victories at the Worlds were in head-to-head battles with Phelps, who finished second in both (200m IM, 200m freestyle).

Lochte showed the world in 2010 that he was the top dog in the water by winning six races at the Pan-Pacific Championships; he cemented that in 2011. Lochte has said that 2008 was not his year ... so after watching his American rival Phelps - the two are close friends - fly home with eight gold medals around his neck he decided it was time to buckle down.

And now with London just seven months away, Lochte is ready to prove himself on sport's biggest stage.

"This year is my year," he said. "I'm putting everything I have to swim this year and I'm not gonna mess it up."