Blair Evans: Australian Swimmer Is Ryan Lochte's Only Potential Downfall

The first non-sports related whispers are trickling out of Olympic Village. Blair Evans and Ryan Lochte are at the forefront of these conversations on Thursday.

Evans will race in the 400-meter individual medley for Australia and Lochte will race the same race on the men's side for Team USA. Nevertheless, their swimming accomplishments aren't grabbing headlines right now.

The Herald Sun (h/t Yahoo! Sports) reports that Lochte and Evans showed a little extra attention at Olympic training.

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Lochte slipped under several lane ropes to say hello to Evans near the blocks when he first spied her at training but it was the brief underwater hand touching that set poolside observers speculating.

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This should come as a surprise to anyone sitting there thinking, "Lochte has a girlfriend," or for anyone who follows Lochte's Olympic career. He had a girlfriend in Beijing in 2008, but he told ESPN that after the fact, he wouldn't do the same in 2012.

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"My last Olympics, I had a girlfriend -- big mistake," Lochte says. "Now I'm single, so London should be really good. I'm excited."

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Lochte could be coming from a social aspect. That report is littered with anecdotes of Olympic debauchery, but perhaps he should look at it from a competitive standpoint as well.

I'm not saying Lochte can't win events while associating with Evans, or anyone else, but why risk the focus? You don't have much time in London. Waiting until after the games to pursue a possible relationship would be a much better idea for both parties.

Lochte is trying to become the undisputed best male swimmer in the world. He has a chance to dethrone Michael Phelps, and Evans isn't going to help that happen. She may not hurt it, but she isn't going to have any positive impact either.

Of course they can have fun. They're Olympic athletes. They've earned it, but Lochte needs to make sure his focus stays on the finish line of each event.

This will be an interesting story to keep an eye on. Lochte's elite status and the rivalry in the pool between Australia and Team USA only sweeten the deal.