The swimmers were returning to the Athletes’ Village in the early hours of Sunday after a party hosted by the French Games delegation when armed men carrying police badges pulled them over.
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Lochte told USA Today that he and his teammates didn’t initially tell the U.S. Olympic officials about the robbery “because we were afraid we’d get in trouble”.
‘I put my hands up, ‘ said the swimmer.
The story was initially denied by the US Olympic Committee (USOC), which later backtracked after Lochte’s mother confirmed the story.
“We got pulled over in our taxi, and these guys came out with a badge”. Lochte, 32, won his 12th Olympic medal as part of the 4×200 freestyle relay.
Allen, a three-time NCAA champion in hurdles, is the first collegian to win the 110-meter hurdles at the Olympic trials since Renaldo Nehemiah of Maryland in 1980, the first to win both NCAA and trials titles in the same year since Lee Calhoun of North Carolina Central in 1956, and his 0.18 margin of victory was the largest ever at the trials.
“We regret the violence has got so close to the athletes”, Mario Andrada said during the daily media briefing at the Games.
“Every time I travel internationally, obviously, we always make sure things are very secure no matter where I’m going”, he said.
One of Olympics organizers’ biggest nightmare scenarios came to fruition early Sunday when a high-profile athlete, US swimmer Ryan Lochte, was robbed at gunpoint.
Australian athletes were told not to wear their team uniforms and to tuck their accreditation inside their shirts when socializing during the evening.
“The police spoke to some of the athletes yesterday and the police are looking for the cab driver who drove them back to get more information”, Andrada said. “I think we all trust our security guys and they have done a great job throughout this whole trip with us”.
Despite deploying 85,000 soldiers and police – twice the amount present at London 2012 – Brazil has been keen to play down reports of crime. The city of more than six million people has a long history of violent crime linked to the impoverished slums that cling to the hills overlooking its golden beaches.
Fake police stops like the one reported by Lochte happen in Rio, but are not common in that area, police say.
Lochte signed a statement on Monday confirming the facts he provided, his attorney said.
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When asked about the incident from the Olympic and USA officials, they showed signs of ambiguity.
