After rumours and unconfirmed reports swirled over the past day, US Olympic gold medal swimmer Ryan Lochte confirmed that he was held up and robbed in Rio by a group of men impersonating police officers.
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“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”. The outing was several hours after Olympic swimming ended Saturday night at the Rio Games. “I refused, I was like, we didn’t do anything wrong, so-I’m not getting down on the ground”. 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. Headlines were dominated by the exploits of Michael Phelps, Katie Ledecky, Simone Biles and others as the United States took a big lead in the medal count.
The robbery of Lochte, Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and Jimmy Feigen early Sunday, as they returned in a taxi to their hotels after a night of partying, has fed concern over safety at the first Olympic Games in South America.
Brazilian police said that they were investigating.
“They pulled out their guns, they told the other swimmers to get down on the ground”, he added. Stray bullets have twice landed in the equestrian venue, and two windows were shattered on a media bus in an attack Rio organizers blamed on rocks and others on gunfire. They let the swimmers keep their cell phones and credentials.
All four athletes were safe and cooperating with authorities, the Olympic Committee said.
“Our security remains in place and we continue to encourage our athletes to use Games transportation”, Sandusky told USA TODAY Sports Sunday evening.
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After Sunday’s robbery, the Australian Olympic Committee banned its athletes from Ipanema and Copacabana beaches after nightfall. After the celebration, he and his three teammates ride in a taxi headed for the Olympic Village.
