Olympic swimmer Ryan Murphy took home the bronze medal for the men’s 100-meter back stroke on Monday, July 29, but that wasn’t the real prize. After the medal ceremony concluded, the 29-year-old athlete saw his wife, Bridget Konttinen, holding up a large sign that read, “It’s a girl!” Ryan spoke to reporters after the moment and gushed about this “exciting” time in his and Bridget’s lives.
“So, when I was walking back around, Bridget was holding up a sign and it said, ‘Ryan, it’s a girl!’ So that was Bridget’s gender reveal to me,” he explained, according to Reuters. “That was the first time I heard. Obviously, I knew she was pregnant, but that was the first time I heard the gender.”
The Team USA member also admitted that he and his wife “honestly both thought it was going to be a boy and everyone we were talking to thought it was going to be a boy,” but the soon-to-be parents are over the moon about their future baby girl.
Just minutes after @TeamUSA swimmer Ryan Murphy won bronze in the 100-meter backstroke at #Paris2024, he looked into the stands and saw his wife holding a sign that read: “Ryan, it’s a girl!” 🥹 pic.twitter.com/aQquX72nFA
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) July 30, 2024
“So, that’s really, really exciting, that we’re going to have a baby and it’s going to be a girl,” he said. “And I think we’re only a couple of weeks behind (Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback) Trevor Lawrence too, so that’s pretty cool.”
Ryan and Bridget first met in 2016 and got engaged in 2022. The following year, the spouses tied the knot. Previously, Ryan competed at the Tokyo and Rio Olympics in 2021 and 2016, respectively. Throughout his swimming career, Bridget has been a source of “great balance” for him, Ryan told Olympics.com in June.
“She’s someone who could say, ‘Hey, Ryan, you’re going a little bit too hard at this, like, you can be a little bit softer on yourself today,'” the Olympian explained. “She’s great for me and helps me keep a level head on things.”
Since he’s a competitive athlete, the pressure can become overwhelming sometimes, Ryan pointed out during his interview. However, he’s learned how to turn his “perfectionism” into a healthier mindset thanks to his support system.
“When you have to analyze swimming things at such a granular level and really be a perfectionist, it’s easy to turn that perfectionism in on yourself,” he explained, adding, “And start analyzing your own personality characteristics and stuff like that.”