“Bob did the old switch-a-roo”: Bryan Brothers swapped Olympic gold medals, but not by choice

Doubles icons Bob and Mike Bryan joined Served with Andy Roddick for a “f-ing hilarious” episode, promised Roddick at the start.

It was proven correct with, among other things, a story about the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

“Thirty-four years old, there was a sense of urgency, we had to win gold,” Bob said. “It all came together, it was one of those moments. There were no tears on that medal stands it was shock.”

“It was a few weeks later that it finally hit us,” he continued. “I carried [the medal] around in my bag for six months, brought it out at bars, it was a chick magnet—for Mike, because I was married.”

“I remember your gold medal,” Mike said to his twin brother. “It had so many scuffs on it, it wasn’t even a circle anymore. You were handing it out to so many fans, they were dropping it, and it was almost a square.”

That, Mike continued, inspired Bob to take action.

“I kept mine at my house, I shined it up, it was in the front, I had lights shining on it—and then Bob did the old switch-a-roo, came out to California and put his little square, it wasn’t even gold it looked silver, and then took my gold out to Miami.”

“Mike had this mint-condition gold medal in the safe, my ribbon was all tattered, so I did the switch-a-roo,” Bob said. “I wanted a fresh one.”

It wasn't until a year later that Mike called up his brother, cursed him out and asked his medal back.

Intrigued, Roddick asked where the pristine medal now resides. “It’s in the safe,” Bob replied.

The Brothers also earned bronze medals at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

Mike had this mint-condition gold medal in the safe, my ribbon was all tattered, so I did the switch-a-roo. I wanted a fresh one. Bob Bryan

Retired since 2020, the Bryans are most focused on the next wave of doubles teams. On the podcast, they reiterated their continuous push for doubles appreciation at tournaments.

“What’s worrisome is that the 12-day tournaments are going to streamline to 5-day doubles tournaments,” Bob said. “That’s what we were dealing with in 2005 when we filed that lawsuit [about doubles taking a backseat to singles at tournaments] and helped to bring back doubles a little bit.

“We’re still on the road, we’re going to spread the gospel and try to keep doubles where it should be.”

Bob is also involved in Davis Cup in his second year as U.S. captain, with Mike jokeing that he’s joining as the “assistant massage therapist.”

The two have plans to travel to Wimbledon this summer.

In the meantime, tune into this podcast episode Sunday night on T2, Tennis Channel’s second network, where the brothers, as well as weekly guest Jon Wertheim, join Roddick for a jam-packed show. Watch the next day on Tennis Channel Plus, and across all Served Media Channels on Tuesday.