Ryan Murphy is one of the highest profile swimmers in the world, winning many medals for the US Team at the Olympics. But who is the US swimmer smashing records in the pool? Here’s everything we know about the 29-year-old Olympian champion. Who is swimmer Ryan Murphy? Ryan Murphy first dreamt of competing at the Olympics when he was just seven years old.

He was born in Chicago, Illinois before attending high school in Florida. During his high school days, he won his first international medal for the 200 metre backstroke. At University of California, Berkeley he swam for the California Golden Bears.

Read more on Olympics By this time, he was an eight-time NCAA individual national champion. Ryan’s parents encouraged him to nurture his talent for swimming. His mum, Katy, is a maths teacher and used her logical thinking to help keep Ryan grounded.

His dad, Pat, volunteered as a soccer coach to help Ryan explore other sports before he chose to dive into the pool and settle on swimming as a career. Most read in Olympics Pat's background in finance helped the family to stay level headed and calm under pressure. Ryan's ability to stay calm under pressure earned him the chance to be one of the US Olympic Swim Team captains.

Ryan was raised in a Roman Catholic family and told the National Catholic Register that he is “a firm believer in God. My faith is important to me.” Who is Ryan Murphy's wife Bridget Konttinen? Ryan met his girlfriend Bridget Konttinen at university, where .