Olympic gold medal Klete Keller hasn’t spoken to the media since SwimSwam broke the news last week that he was inside the United States 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 he was charged in the U.S. District Court with three counts related to the Capital uprising. Keller burst into tears and apologized to Schubert, saying, “You did a lot for me and I disappointed him,” according to the article.
For the past 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 Olympic Games in 2000, 2004 and 2008 – participate in an effort to subvert the democratic process of certifying the election? And although Keller did not give an interview, his conversation with Schubert gives us a glimpse of his thinking: “It was not my intention that none of this would happen,” he repeated several times.
Keller had a hard time adjusting to life outside the pool. He told USA Swimming in an interview in June 2018: “In a matter of a few years, I went from Olympic gold medal to husband, owner, guy with a series of sales jobs – life insurance, software, medical devices, products financial – and father of three, and I had a hard time accepting who I was without swimming in my life, ”he said. “Swimmer was my identity for most of my life, so I quickly transitioned to other roles and never gave myself time to feel comfortable with them. I really struggled with things. I didn’t like my job, and that unhappiness and lack of identity started to invade my marriage. ”After the divorce, he went through a deep depression and spent almost a year living outside the car. “I was paying child support for my children and couldn’t afford a house, so I lived in my car for almost a year. I had a Ford Fusion at the time, so at six feet, it was a challenge to find sleeping space. But I made it work. “
Keller told USA Swimming that he is climbing again after reaching the bottom. He was selling commercial real estate and hired a lawyer to request the rights to see his children, which he had not seen for years after a tough custody battle.
Now, he risks 15 and a half years in prison if convicted on all three charges against him: violent entry, disorderly conduct and obstruction of law enforcement.
Keller surrendered to the police at the end of last week and was released, without bail, with restrictions on his movements.