“We got pulled over, in the taxi, and these guys came out with a badge, a police badge, no lights, no nothing just a police badge and they pulled us over”, Lochte told Bush. NBC News reports that the suspected robbers told them to get out of the cab and lie face down.
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She said Lochte was with at least one United States teammate in a cab heading to meet up with Pereira when the cab stopped to get petrol. The guy reportedly took his money, his wallet, his cell phone but the guy left his credentials.
The robbers demanded money and other personal belongings.
Lochte said on Twitter that he and the other athletes were “safe and unharmed”, and thanked all those who had given him support.
Lochte’s mother, Ileana, told USA Today and Fox Sports Australia that his wallet was taken and she learned of the incident through a text from her son.
Olympic Gold Medalist Ryan Lochte attends day 1 of “Swim For Relief” Benefiting Hurricane Sandy Recovery at Herald Square on October 8, 2013 in New York City.
Security has been a major headache for organizers of South America’s first Olympics.
The athletes were returning to the Olympic village after celebrating the end of the swimming competition at the Rio Games.
Word of the robbery touched off a chain of confusion between Olympic and USA officials. The outing was several hours after Olympic swimming ended Saturday night at the Rio Games.
Despite deploying 85,000 soldiers and police – twice the amount present at London 2012 – Brazil has been keen to play down reports of crime.
Last week, a Brazilian security officer was fatally shot after taking a wrong turn into a risky favela.
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In addition to the swimmers, Swedish tourists were briefly abducted when they visited a slum, Portugal’s visiting education minister was robbed at knife point, bullets flew into the equestrian centre and a Games bus was attacked with stones. Billed as the least-prepared Olympic host city ever, Rio faced months of worldwide scrutiny over its dirty water, unfinished infrastructure, budget woes and, of course, its Zika virus. “I kind of said, ‘Excuse me?’ I couldn’t believe it”, Phelps said, adding that he had been to Brazil many times and had “felt safe every time I’ve come here”.
