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Olympic Gold Medalist Klete Keller has not spoken to the media since SwimSwam announced last week that he was inside the U.S. Capitol on January 6. But according to the New York Times, he spoke to former coaches and expressed remorse. Mark Schubert, who was Keller’s coach at USC, told The Times he called his former swimmer after being indicted in a U.S. district court with three counts related to the uprising in the capital. Keller had burst into tears and apologized to Schubert, saying, “You have done so much for me, and I have let you down,” according to the article.
Since last week, the swimming community has been trying to come to terms with Keller’s involvement in the uprising. How, people ask, could someone who represented their country at the highest level – at the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Olympics – participate in an effort to overturn the democratic process of election certification? And although Keller didn’t give any interviews, his conversation with Schubert gives us some insight into his thinking: “I didn’t want all of this to happen,” he repeated over and over.
Keller has struggled to adjust to life outside the pool. He told USA Swimming in an interview in June 2018: “ Within a few years I went from Olympic gold medalist to husband, owner, guy with a series of jobs in sales – life insurance, software, medical devices, financial products – and a father of three, and I had a hard time coming to terms with who I was without swimming in my life, ”he said. “The swimmer has been my identity for most of my life, then I quickly transitioned into other roles and never gave myself time to get comfortable with them. I really struggled with things. I didn’t like my job and this unhappiness and lack of identity started to creep into my marriage. After his divorce he experienced deep depression and spent almost a year living out of his car. “I was paying support for my children and couldn’t afford to buy a place. So I lived in my car for almost a year. I had a Ford Fusion at the time, so at 6ft 6, it was difficult to make the room to sleep. But I made it work.
Keller told USA Swimming he was recovering after hitting rock bottom. He was selling commercial real estate and had hired a lawyer to seek the right to see his children, whom he had not seen in years following a bitter custody battle.
Now he faces 15.5 years in prison if convicted of all three charges against him: violent entry, disorderly conduct and obstruction of law enforcement.
Keller surrendered to law enforcement late last week and was released, without bail, with restrictions on his movements.
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