Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition

Olympian Lochte to dedicate swim to Nicholas Dworet.

- By Anne Geggis Staff writer ageggis@sunsentine­l.com, 561-243-6624, or @AnneBoca . Visit our Deerfield Beach community page at SunSentine­l.com /FacebookDe­erfield.

Olympic gold medalist Ryan Lochte is dedicating his next Olympic swims to the captain of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School swim team who was killed in the shooting at the school.

Nicholas Dworet, 17, a senior, had just committed to swimming competitiv­ely for the University of Indianapol­is when he was gunned down Feb. 14 in the mass shooting at the Parkland high school.

Lochte, a Daytona Beach resident, is in Plantation this weekend for the Florida sectional swimming championsh­ips and on Friday he took some time to make an unannounce­d visit to the school to meet with Dworet’s parents, classmates and coaches. He follows high-profile visits that have included Miami Heat star Dwayne Wade and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.

“Words cannot describe the emotions that I felt while at the school and how grateful I am that I was able to meet with those incredible students,” Lochte wrote on his social media accounts Friday.

On Instagram and Facebook, Lochte said he wore the high school swimming team’s cap — and won. Results posted on Swim Swam show that he placed first in the 100-meter butterfly, 200-meter freestyle and the 100-meter backstroke events.

Dworet aspired to swim in the Olympics, according to a statement his family provided to the Sun Sentinel when his death was announced.

“I told his parents that I will dedicate my swims in the 2020 Olympics to Nicholas,” Lochte wrote, using the “MSDStrong” and “NeverAgain” hashtags. “One of his goals was to swim in the Olympics and now he will with me!!”

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