The 12-time Olympics medalist said earlier this week he and three other US swimmers – Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and James Feigen, were robbed at gunpoint Sunday.
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“On behalf of the United States Olympic Committee, we apologize to our hosts in Rio and the people of Brazil for this distracting ordeal in the midst of what should rightly be a celebration of excellence”, the US Olympic Committee said in a statement.
The four U.S. gold medal-winning swimmers hoped to draw a line under the scandal that erupted when Lochte went public with a shocking report of how they were mugged on their way early Sunday back from a party in Rio de Janeiro.
According to sources at the coffee chain, Phelps “seemed relaxed” and graciously stopped to thank fans who congratulated him on racking up so many gold medals in Rio.
USA swimmer Ryan Lochte has released a statement apologising for his role in a drunken incident at the Rio Olympic which initially saw him and three teammates tell police that they’d been robbed at gunpoint.
Describing the incident as “traumatic”, Lochte said: “Regardless of the behaviour of anyone else that night, I should have been much more responsible in how I handled myself”. He said Ryan Lochte removed a poster from a nearby wall, which resulted in the swimmers being confronted by two armed security officers.
Earlier in the week, a judge ordered that their passports be seized and Bentz and Conger were detained from leaving the country until they gave their side of the story to police.
The swimmers flew home on Thursday after a local crowd jeered them, calling them “liars” and “fakes”.
The American swimmer, who almost got charged with falsifying a criminal report in Brazil after claiming he was robbed by men impersonating as police, posted the statement on social media Friday.
Bentz released a statement through the University of Georgia, where he’s a junior, saying that he “regretted this situation has drawn attention away from the Olympics, which have been hosted so incredibly well by Brazil and its citizens”.
“That’s why I’m taking full responsibility for it, because I over-exaggerated the story”, Lochte said.
At this point Bentz says that a customer offered to translate for the swimmers, then the security guards said they needed to pay for the damages.
As NPR’s Howard Berkes tells us, USA Swimming’s code of conduct includes a broad rule concerning athletes’ behavior that is “detrimental to the image or reputation of USA Swimming. or the sport of swimming”.
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During their testimony, the two said they asked the taxi driver to stop because Lochte needed to use the bathroom.
