The International Olympic Committee is to start a disciplinary inquiry into USA swimmer Ryan Lochte and three of his teammates.
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The US Olympic Committee has apologised and branded the behaviour of the four swimmers “unacceptable”.
Rio’s Public Ministry says US swimmer Jimmy Feigen should pay about $50,000 or more than four times what he was ordered to pay by a Brazilian judge.
“As we understand it, the four athletes left France House early in the morning of August 14 in a taxi headed to the Olympic Village”, Blackmun said.
But police investigating the claims said they believed the Olympians made up the story and instead had vandalised a petrol station.
As previously reported, the 32-year-old athlete claimed that he and his three teammates – Jimmy Feigen, Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger – were robbed at gunpoint at a gas station in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday.
Meanwhile, earlier Friday, Lochte issued an apology and Feigen agreed to pay $11,000 to a charity after Brazilian police said they lied about being robbed at gunpoint at the weekend.
“But regardless of the behaviour of anyone else that night, I should have been much more responsible in how I handled myself, and for that I am sorry to my teammates, my fans, my fellow competitors, my sponsors and the hosts of this great event”.
“The Brazilian population will accept his apologies and we want to put this matter to an end and I don’t see this as a fact that will mark these Games”, Games spokesman Mario Andrada said of Lochte’s apology. “An argument ensued between the athletes and two armed gas station security staff, who dislayed their weapons, ordered the athletes from their vehicles and demanded the athletes provide a monetary payment”. “I hope that there is more that comes out of it, find out a little bit more about the security guard or the military police or whatever it was specifically that extorted the money from (the swimmers)”, he said.
“The behavior of these athletes is not acceptable, nor does it represent the values of Team USA or the conduct of the vast majority of its members”.
Feigen had to pay 35,000 reais ($10,800) to a Brazilian charitable cause as a condition for being able to leave the country.
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Feigen did not join Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger when they left Thursday night because he was ordered to donate nearly $11,000 to a local sports charity before charges against him would be dropped.
