FILE – In this August 10, 2016, file photo, Ryan Lochte listens to the national anthem after being awarded a gold medal during the ceremony for the men’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay final at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
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Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte and three of his teammates have been suspended from the USA swim team, the United States Olympic Committee and USA Swimming announced Thursday.
“Regarding the case of the four US swimmers whose behaviour at Rio 2016 has resulted in suspensions from the US Olympic Committee and USA Swimming, and now that the key facts have been established, FINA considers the sanctions applied as proportionate, adequate and sufficient”, a FINA statement read.
The punishment comes after Lochte and other USA swimmers gave a false story about being robbed at gunpoint in Rio de Janeiro.
Lochte, a 12-time Olympic medalist, has lost a slew of sponsorship deals following the Rio escapade.
Lochte has since taken responsibility publicly, saying the worldwide Olympic scandal was his fault and caused by his “immature behavior”.
Brazilian police charged Lochte last month with filing a false report but the swimmer has not said whether he’ll return to Brazil to defend himself.
“Each of the athletes has accepted responsibility for his actions and accepted the appropriate sanctions”, he added.
The suspension of Lochte, 32, is four months longer than the one given to longtime USA teammate and rival Michael Phelps in 2014 when the latter was arrested for a second time for DUI, and undoubtedly reflects the degree of embarrassment Lochte caused for the American delegation in Brazil, as well as the host country.
“But there is so much more I want accomplish in the sport of swimming so I do know that I’m still going to be training and when I do come back I’m going to definitely be a better swimmer and a better person”, Lochte said. All will forfeit monthly stipends and access to USOC training centers during their bans.
In addition, Bentz, who is under 21, will serve 10 hours of community service for violating Olympic Village curfew hours.
The suspension by the two governing bodies comes almost a month after Lochte lied that he and three other USA swimmers were robbed at gunpoint in Rio de Janeiro just hours after the Olympic swimming competition concluded, touching off a scandal that overshadowed much of the final week of the Rio Games.
“It’s traumatic to be out late with your friends in a foreign country. and have a stranger point a gun at you and demand money to let you leave”, Lochte said.
Was Ryan Lochte’s suspension too lenient? “That’s not exactly what happened”, Lochte said, according to a USA Today story.
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“Unfortunately, this storyline took attention away from the athletes who deserved it the most”, USA Swimming CEO Chuck Wielgus said in a statement.
