In the United States, Lochte came in for some serious scorn, with media and internet comments nearly universally scathing.
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According to his tweet, Lochte said he and three fellow swimmers faced a “traumatic” situation when a language barrier and a stranger pointing a gun got involved.
Lochte had said that he and three other gold medal winning United States swimmers were mugged by robbers pretending to be police whilst on their way back from an all-night party in Rio de Janeiro last Sunday.
The champion swimmer said he “waited to share these thoughts” for legally sensitive reasons and until “it was clear that my teammates would be arriving home safely”. A gas station worker arrives, and other workers inspect the damage.
Of course the fabricated story has sparked quite the debate going well beyond sports. “They did not lie in their statements”, lawyer Sergio Riera told The Associated Press.
Obviously, Ryan Lochte’s status as a decorated swimmer and frat-boy persona have drawn the media to this case in particular, but once it came to light he may have made up the whole incident, it’s concerning that Olympic officials were quick to dismiss his indiscretions and try to shift the focus back to “athletes and their remarkable stories”. He said that was when two men approached with guns and badges and told them to get out and get down.
The American swimmers’ allegations appeared to be the final humiliation. New video showed that one or more of the U.S. Olympians vandalized the bathroom at the gas station, breaking mirrors and damaging doors. They vandalized a gas station bathroom and were confronted by security guards.
“We accept and appreciate his apology”, said Mario Andrada, a spokesman for the local organizers of the Rio Games.
Bentz, Conger and Feigen were ordered to stay in the country to answer more questions.
On Wednesday night, Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger – the other two swimmers involved in the incident – were sitting on their plane on the tarmac as Brazilian authorities took them off their US -bound plane for further questioning. Then he changed his story and said it was an incident at a gas station that got out of hand.
Bentz and Conger were then given back their passports and left. The AP reports that “police said the swimmers were unable to provide key details in early interviews, saying they had been intoxicated”. As a matter of fact, the swimmers’ tale about a criminal incident was fake. Veloso said guards flashed a gun to prevent the men from leaving the scene, which ended with the swimmers giving about $55 to pay for the damage. When tensions escalated, the security guard took out his pistol and made them sit on the ground.
While parts of Ryan’s first round of statements are consistent with the security footage: he said, “he left my cell phone, he left my credentials”, the rest is not.
Conger told investigators that he had described the event to his mother while having breakfast with Feigen.
Ryan Lochte poses with his gold medal on the Today show set on Copacabana Beach on last week.
Onlookers shouted “liars” and “shameful” at Bentz and Conger as they left a police station Thursday where they gave statements. The situation was an enormous embarrassment for the U.S. Olympic team, which has dominated in winning medals.
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On Friday, the swimmer Lochte issued an apology on his Twitter account, but it did little to quell the anger.
