Whether Ryan Lochte and three other American swimmers were robbed at gunpoint or not during a Sunday night out on the town in Rio de Janeiro during the 2016 Olympics, the controversy developing around Lochte’s retelling of the alleged crime has suddenly become a referendum on the safety of these entire Games. Lochte said the Brazilian police asked few questions during what he thought was a casual interview.
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Patrick Sandusky, a United States Olympic Committee spokesman, said: “We can confirm that Jack Conger and Gunnar Bentz were removed from their flight to the United States by Brazilian authorities”. It said they had been released, with the understanding they would discuss the incident Thursday.
A third swimmer, James Feigen, is in contact with Brazilian authorities and plans to make further statements to them today, said a spokesman for the U.S. Olympic Committee.
Brazilian police and United States officials did not immediately respond to a request for more information on Feigen’s location.
According to Lochte’s account of events, the four swimmers were returning home from a night on the town when the taxi they were in got pulled over. According to the source, the swimmers said that, upon recommendation from their lawyers, they were choosing not to speak at that time.
The plane incident follows reports that a Brazilian judge issued a search and seizure warrant for Lochte and Feigen’s passports as questions emerged about their accounts of the incident.
It was a story that raised even more concerns over the safety of athletes in Rio de Janeiro.
Two representatives from the US consulate and an USOC official arrived at the airport shortly after the swimmers were stopped from leaving the country.
Feigen’s statement said a number of robbers targeted the athletes but only one was armed, the statement said. “But I’m safe. Everything’s fine”.
“And then the guy pulled out his gun, he cocked it, put it to my forehead, and he said, ‘Get down, ‘ and I put my hands up”.
Various American media outlets have reported that Lochte is back in the U.S., but the USA Today has said Feigen is still in Rio and is assisting the police in their inquiries. The swimmers complained earlier this week that they were robbed at gun point. Judge Blank’s office said the judge was probing “possible inconsistencies in the swimmers’ stories”.
“I think he feels it was more of a traumatic mischaracterization”, said Lauer.
Authorities also said the group did not call police, and officers only began investigating once they saw media reports.
NBC’s Matt Lauer said on the air Wednesday night that he had spoken on the phone with Lochte and that the swimmer “strongly denied” any implication that he and his teammates had made up the story, saying that was “absolutely not the case”.
Steve Lochte told The Associated Press by phone from his Florida home that his son called him Tuesday after arriving in the United States.
Mr Lochte said: “I’m just happy he’s safe”. The three other swimmers, that you mentioned, did get on the ground. They got back to the taxi and when they told the taxi driver to “go, ‘ he didn’t move”. They ordered them to drop to the ground and demanded their wallets and belongings, he said, adding he had initially tried to resist.
The 12-time Olympic medalist said earlier this week that one of the robbers pressed a gun to his head.
“My opinion is they are trying to use Ryan’s situation to use as a scapegoat to show that things down there are not as bad as it looks”, Lochte’s attorney Jeff Ostrow told ESPN on Wednesday. He had already given testimony to Brazilian police before leaving the country.
Additionally, as part of our standard security protocol, we do not make athlete travel plans public and therefore can not confirm the athletes’ current location.
It’s not clear where Feigen is, though the US Olympic Committee says he is cooperating with Brazilian authorities. The two were taken off their flight from Brazil to the USA on Wednesd.
But Kirby said he could not provide further information.
“Why would anybody fabricate anything?” Olympic officials said police were still looking for key witnesses, including the driver of the taxi the swimmers said they were in. They seem to be joking with each other. Until then, we’ll just wait for the next insane turn in this unfolding story. Ryan is the victim here.
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The best part, they say, was realizing what their fellow Americans were up to and feeding off that excitement.
