American swimmer wrote a letter to his parents when he was 8 years old saying he wanted to be an Olympian — now he’s a gold medalist
Tom Pennington/Getty
American swimmer Ryan Murphy won the 100-meter backstroke on Monday night in Rio to pick up the first gold medal of his young career. Doing it also achieved a goal the 21-year-old set out for himself when he was a kid.
When Murphy was eight, he hand-wrote a letter to his parents to inform them that he had very serious Olympic aspirations.
"I hope my swimming life continues and I become an Olympian when I grow up," Murphy wrote. "I hope I will break the world records. I want to be the best swimmer in the world."
After Murphy won on Monday night, NBC showed a picture of that same letter, which also included a self-portrait with a gold medal.
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/762827092266475525
Ryan Murphy wrote this when he was a young boy. Ryan, this isn't the end - it's just the beginning! #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/zCEFfrCMDb
Eight-year-od Murphy may be disappointed to learn his 21-year-old self did not set a world record en route to his gold medal, but that gold he will take.
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