A Swimming Instructor Gets Hands-on with an Olympic Hopeful in SNL's Classic Sketch
John C. Reilly and Will Forte deliver laughs while trying to swim laps in the classic SNL sketch.
Actor John C. Reilly hosted Saturday Night Live on October 21, 2006, and he definitely made a splash the now-classic "Swimming Instructor" sketch.
Will Forte, an SNL cast member from 2002 to 2010, plays Terry James, a man who shows up to an indoor pool looking for the world's greatest swimming instructor, Doug Frangelo.
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Dressed in a robe, swimming cap and goggles, Terry asks a man (Andy Samberg) where he can find Doug. The instructor appears at the mention of his name, wearing only a blue Speedo and a floating device around his waist.
Terry reminds Doug that they spoke on the phone prior to meeting.
"Oh, yeah. You’re the guy who wants togo for the gold in Beijing," Reilly's Doug nods.
"I know. It’s crazy, right? An average Joe with no swimming experience wants to compete in the Olympics," Terry says. "What have I been smoking, right?"
John C. Reilly earned two applause breaks in SNL's "Swimming Instructor"
But Doug knows a dreamer when he sees one. Instead of laughing, he tells Terry, "You’ve been smoking dream dust, and Doug Frangelo is about to turn it into reality dust. So are you ready to go? Let’s take off that robe. You heard me."
With the two down to their Speedos, Terry's ready to dive into the pool. Instead, Doug walks behind him and tells Terry to "strap in," and has him buckle himself to the front of him.
The two walk around the edge of the pool strapped to each other, as Doug tries to teach Terry some proper technique.
"I don’t know if this is working out," Terry says. "I thought I was gonna get more pool time than this?"
"Terry, you’ll get plenty of pool time after you mastered the land fundamentals," Doug explains, telling him that he will hit the pool in "two or three years, tops."
Ultimately, we learn that these moments were merely "the first leg of the greatest story in swimming history"—with Terry finally making it to the Olympics... in 2048.
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As for real-life Olympic swimming, Wednesday, July 31, Katie Ledecky won gold in the 1,500 meter freestyle at the 2024 Paris Olympics. According to NBC News, it was her eighth career gold medal, tying Thompson's record for the most by any female swimmer in Olympic history.
Swimming is currently in full swing at the Olympics, with the final race scheduled for Friday, August 9.
