“I look forward to getting home so that I can begin to map out the plans for my future with an eye on representing #TeamUSA at the #2020 Tokyo Olympics”.
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“According to four members of the U.S. Olympic Swimming Team (Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger, Jimmy Feigen and Ryan Lochte), they left France House early Sunday morning in a taxi headed for the Olympic Village”, Sandusky said in a statement released Sunday afternoon. Lochte said one of the robbers put a gun to his forehead.
“Their taxi was stopped by individuals posing as armed police officers who demanded the athletes’ money and other personal belongings”, spokesman Patrick Sandusky said. I am honored to have represented the US here at the Rio Olympics and to win Gold for my country alongside my teammates.
Ryan Lochte’s mother said the swimmer was unharmed but was shaken by the incident. An International Olympic Committee spokesman at first said reports of the robbery were “absolutely not true”, then reversed himself, apologized and said he was relying on initial information from the USOC that was wrong.
Lochte told USA Today that he and his teammates didn’t initially tell the U.S. Olympic officials about the robbery “because we were afraid we’d get in trouble”.
Lochte had been done with his own events since Thursday, while all Olympic swimming events wrapped up on Saturday evening, which afforded the US swimming team some downtime to celebrate post-competition. “All four athletes are safe and cooperating with authorities”.
Serious concern for the thousands of athletes, their events now complete, who are going to tour and celebrate in a city of 6.5 million in which indiscriminate street crime is the stuff of legend.
Incidents include Australian Paralympians having their bicycles stolen while training, Spanish sailors robbed at gunpoint, a shooting competitor having guns stolen, a judo wrestler involved in a confrontation on Copacabana beach and a man shot dead while trying to rob the chief of security at the opening ceremony.
Rio deployed 85,000 security officers for the Olympic Games, including state police, armed forces and external police forces.
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One of the gunmen reportedly changed the American’s mind. They are typically a bigger problem in the poorer cities where police are less present. He added: “It doesn’t behoove Ryan and anyone else to make up a story”.
