2024 Paris Olympics

Florida's Ryan Murphy makes history with bronze – and was surprised with a gender reveal

Florida's own Ryan Murphy solidified himself into Olympic history in the pool Tuesday night

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Ryan Murphy has made history after winning a bronze medal in the 100m backstroke in Paris – and he shared special personal news with NBC6’s Marissa Bagg

Swimmer Ryan Murphy earned a bronze medal in men's 100m backstroke in Paris Monday night, earning a medal for the third Olympics in a row.

Murphy, a Chicago-born Florida transplant, finished with a time of 52.39 seconds, .39 seconds behind gold medal winner Thomas Ceccon of Italy. China's Jiayu Xu won silver with a time of 52.32 seconds.

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Murphy, a Jacksonville native, is the first man to medal in three consecutive Olympic games in the men’s 100-meter backstroke since 1972.

“It’s unbelievable. There’s so many incredible people who have come through this sport," Murphy said. "I put a ton of work in to be at the top of the world over the last eight years and to see that shine through at the Olympics is really awesome."

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HIGHLIGHTS: Ryan Murphy wins bronze in 100m backstroke
Watch as Ryan Murphy wins bronze in the men's 100m backstroke final. Thomas Ceccon of Italy won gold and Jiayu Xu of China won silver.

At 29 years old, this is Murphy's seventh Olympic medal, having won three gold in Rio and a gold, bronze and silver in Tokyo.

For the first time since Rio, his family, including his wife, were in the stands – and she had some exciting news for him right after the medal ceremony.

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“My wife just told me we are having a baby girl, that’s probably better news than winning the bronze medal – so an awesome night overall," he said.

He will have another chance at a medal in the men's 200m backstroke. And when that race is in the books, he'll enjoy all that Paris has to offer.

 "It’s three days in, it’s a stressful meet, I have a lot of races ahead of me," he said. "I’ll stay focused and relax after."

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