United States Olympic gold medalist Ryan Murphy will be making his return to competition at the 2026 Pro Swim Series in Sacramento next weekend.
The 3rd stop of the series is just one week away, and host team DART Swimming announced on Instagram that Murphy will be racing.
Murphy last raced at the Olympic Games in Paris, where he finished 3rd in the 100 back and 10th in the 200 back. He also won a silver medal as the backstroker on the U.S. 400 medley relay.
These were not his first Olympic medals. In 2016, he won the Olympic gold medal in the 100 backstroke final, swimming 51.85 to set the American Record in the event. He also won the gold medal swimming the backstroke leg of the medley. In 2021, he finished 2nd in the 200 back and 3rd in the 100 backstroke, and picked up a 3rd Olympic gold in the medley relay.
Since racing at the Olympics in Paris, Murphy had a daughter, Eevi in January of 2025. In May of 2025, he announced he would be taking the summer off from racing to spend more time with his wife and daughter and to focus on “career interests beyond swimming.”
In January, he announced that he and his wife, Bridget, were expecting another daughter due this summer.
We don’t have official psych sheets for the meet yet, but DART Swimming has confirmed autograph appearances from Luca Urlando, Santo Condorelli, Michael Andrew, Aiden Hayes, Joey Tepper, and Phoebe Bacon, meaning these athletes will at least be in the area.
The Sacramento meet also features semifinals and double prize money in the 200s of stroke, though Murphy is historically stronger in the 100 backstroke.