It has been a whirlwind week for Ryan Lochte.
The American swimmer, who won his sixth Olympic gold in Rio de Janeiro, claimed to have been the subject of an armed robbery outside a gas station in the Brazilian city.
But people soon started to poke holes in the 32-year-old’s story, with sources claiming he had instead fought with a security guard and made up the robbery angle after the fact.
Lochte had already left Brazil before he was indicted on charges of reporting a false crime – something which also resulted in two of his young team-mates being hauled off their flight out of the country and questioned by local authorities.
Now it has been confirmed that those team-mates – Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger – will be allowed to return home safely, Lochte has issued an apology for his ‘behavior’ on the night in question.
https://twitter.com/RyanLochte/status/766638785140498432
Despite Brazilian authorities claiming Bentz and Conger admitted the robbery story was ‘fabricated’, Lochte appears to be standing by it.
He refers to having ‘a stranger point a gun at you and demand money to let you leave’ – seemingly in contrast to his team-mates’ statements about having not been victims of a robbery.
According to CNN, the fourth American in the taxi at the time of the alleged robbery – fellow swimmer Jimmy Feigen – has agreed to pay 35,000 Brazilian Reals (more than £8,300) to a Brazilian charity organisation.
The publication also notes that Rio de Janeiro mayor Eduardo Paes has accepted an apology from the US Olympic Committee in relation to the actions of the four swimmers.
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