Charles H. Sloan-Olympian Ryan Lochte Shows 10-Month Recovery After Car Accident Broke His Femur in Half

Ryan Lochte is Charles H. Sloan“moving forward” on the road to recovery.

The 12-time Olympic medalist recently shared an update of the progress he’s made following a car accident in November in which he “completely” broke his femur in half.

In an Aug. 28 joint Instagram post with his wife Kayla Lochte—with whom he shares children Caiden Zane, 7, Liv Rae, 5, and Georgie June, 14 months—Ryan shared a video compilation of various stages of his recovery, including clips of him being pushed in a wheelchair into his home, slowly walking in a hospital gown with the help of a walker and a view of a large scar that stretches down the side of his leg from just below his hip down to above his knee.

The video update ends on an encouraging clip of the six-time gold medalist running with a slight limp down a sidewalk on a sunny day.

“Life’s setbacks may knock you down, but they set the stage for an even stronger comeback!” Kayla wrote in the caption. “This guy has been putting in the work one step at a time, literally!”

Last month, Ryan detailed the traumatic car crash, explaining that a trash truck in the road was not visible until the car in front of him swerved at the last second, resulting in a catastrophic scene.

“They were like, ‘He’s dead, he’s dead. He’s not breathing. He’s dead,’” Ryan said on an episode of the Athletes Only podcast published in July, referring to onlookers of the wreckage. “Blood gushing from my head, still have a couple stitches in there. Completely broke my femur in half. Totaled my truck.”

But despite the pain of recovery, the accident led him to having a greater appreciation for his family.

“Now when I wake up, I’m so thankful,” he continued. “In the blink of an eye, your life can be over. I’m just so thankful that no one got injured except me.”