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Who is Klete Keller? Olympic gold medalist swimmer who was on Michael Phelps' team stormed Capitol, shows video

In 2018 Keller revealed that he was 'homeless', living out of his car for months and didn't know what happened to his medals

More and more people who stormed the US Capitol are being identified and charged with crimes related to the riots and protests that occurred in Washington DC on January 6. And now, a video shared by a media outlet of the scene within the Capitol building reportedly shows Olympic gold medalist Kelete Keller among the crowd that was resisting the Capitol cops trying to clear the rotunda.

According to the New York Times, Keller’s former teammates and coaches have identified the swimmer from the riots. The 6-foot-6 man is donning a team jacket with “USA” printed on the back and down the sleeves. Keller was a part of the American relay team for the 2004 Olympics in Athens, with former swimming champion Michael Phelps. While no video was really conclusive, many who know him have “expressed surprise at his presence in Washington.” His deleted social media accounts allegedly had pro-Trump messages.

Who is Klete Keller?

Keller is an American former swimmer, who won medals at three Olympics, including golds at the 2004 Athens Games and Beijing Games in 2008. He was teammates with the 28-time gold medalist Michael Phelps in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay in Athens and set a record by racing another swimming legend, Australian Ian Thorpe, to win by 0.13 seconds. 

However, in 2018, Keller revealed that he was “homeless” and living out of his car for months. In an interview from 2014, he said that he wasn’t aware of the whereabouts of his Olympic medals and failed to find success after retirement from the sport. He made a living for himself for some time by giving swimming lessons and operating swim clinics. Similar to Keller's former teammates and coaches, social media users also seem to be shocked by his presence in the Capitol, when pro-Trump protestors stormed the House of Congress, with some demanding action against him. 

One Twitter user wrote, "@FBI arrest at Klete Keller for insurrection." While another added, "Strip Klete Keller's gold medals away. What a disgrace." Adding to the above tweets one wrote, "I'm unclear why y'all are saying gold medal Olympian swimmer, Klete Keller should be stripped of his medal. Being part of the white supremacist mob that broke into the capital has nothing to do with his gold medal. You can be racist and be an Olympian. #IJS" One tweeted, "Reading up on Klete Keller is mortifying. Guy goes from winning multiple Olympic medals to a deadbeat dad living out of his car. Through help of family gets it together enough to start a business and regain his life and then pisses it all away in the cult of Trump storming DC."