Ryan Lochte on Friday went on social media to apologize for telling reporters he was robbed at gunpoint in Rio.
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The case has ignited a debate that goes well beyond sports, eliciting an apology from U.S. Olympic officials and outrage from Brazilians who accuse Lochte of smearing Rio’s reputation as it held one of the most important global events in Brazil’s history. But two men with guns – security guards at the gas station – approached the vehicle, brandished their weapons and prevented them from leaving, Bentz said. The swimmers actually caused a fight in a gas station close to the Olympic Village as they arrived drunk and ended up brawling with the security guards after damaging property inside the shop.
“I should have been much more responsible in how I handled myself and for that am sorry to my teammates, my fans, my fellow competitors, my sponsors, and the hosts of this great event”, he wrote.
“I want to apologize for my behavior last weekend – for not being more careful and candid in how I described the events of that early morning”, a statement posted on Lochte’s Instagram page said.
The swimmers were trying to leave in a cab when two security guards ordered them out of a cab.
But Lochte had already flown to the United States before police moved to seize his passport.
The Rio gas station where USA swimmers Ryan Lochte, Jimmy Feigen, Jack Conger and Gunnar Bentz are believed to have encountered security guards.
On Thursday, police provided CCTV footage and other evidence about what really happened.
During their testimony, the two said they asked the taxi driver to stop because Lochte needed to use the bathroom.
Having paid, Blackmun said, they were permitted to leave.
Police said they were planning to charge Lochte and Feigen with providing false testimony about a crime. “The images do not show any kind of violence against them”.
The three swimmers kept in Brazil retracted the mugging story in interviews with police on Thursday.
Disgraced US swimmer Ryan Lochte and three team-mates are facing an Olympic disciplinary commission after lying about an armed robbery during the Rio Olympics.
The fourth member of the group, Jimmy Feigen, was set to leave the country on Friday night after agreeing with a judge to donate $11,000 to a sporting charity, a condition of police returning his passport. He also provided a revised statement to police.
The swimmers will now have to face Olympic team leaders back home.
“While we are thankful our athletes are safe, we do not condone the lapse in judgment and conduct that led us to this point”, USA Swimming executive director Chuck Wielgus said. The group of swimmers, which also included Jimmy Feigen, 26, then got out of the vehicle.
Lochte returned to the United States on Monday, a day after the incident and before police denounced his version.
Lochte, 32, has said he plans to take an extended break after the Rio Games and relocate to Los Angeles.
In the United States, Lochte came in for some serious scorn, with comments in the media and on the Internet nearly universally scathing.
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Lochte said he had been forced to the ground in a Rio gas station and robbed with a gun to his head.
