Olympian Ryan Lochte Celebrates Gold Medal With Diamond Grill

[NelsonG]

Sometimes you’ve gotta do it for the glory. And for an athlete, what could be more glorious than receiving an Olympic gold medal? U.S. swimmer Ryan Lochte won the coveted prize this weekend after competing in the 400-meter Individual Medley race and he wanted to celebrate by sporting his red, white and blue diamond-encrusted grill. Unfortunately, he was banned from wearing the grill during the ceremony, but he couldn’t wait to show it off later.

Lochte, who has been known to sport grills at important sporting events over the years—including the 2008 Olympics in Beijing—even took the time to explain what a grill is to fans who weren’t privy. "For those who don't know what a grill is, it's basically a retainer filled with diamonds," he said in a 2011 interview. "I wear it when I go on the podium. It's just a unique way of showing personality out to everyone."

According to ESPN’s Wayne Drehs, Lochte’s plan was to sport his grill while receiving the medal, until that was shut down. "Lochte told me he tried to wear his grill on the podium only to have an Olympics official tell him if he did so he wouldn't get his gold,” Drehs wrote on Twitter.

Despite the temporary ban, the 27-year-old got his time to shine later, when he was snapped looking pretty content with his diamond-encrusted smile.

[url=http://rapfix.mtv.com/2012/07/30/ryan-lochte-olympic-gold-medal-and-diamond-grill/]View the full article[/url]