Ryan Lochte, 32, is determined to turn his reputation back around again.
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The prospective ban, which has still to be officially confirmed, would see Lochte miss the swimming world championships in 2017 and would also throw serious doubt over whether he could add to his 12 Olympic medals during the Tokyo Games in four years’ time, according to CNN.
All four swimmers will also be left out of Team USA’s visit to the White House this fall, and they will not receive stipends from USA Swimming or the USOC during their suspensions.
The three other swimmers with Lochte on the morning of August 14 – Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and James Feigen – were suspended for four months each, but remain eligible for the world championships.
Lochte will also get no monthly funding from either the USOC or USA Swimming.
Trying to handle the pressure from the media, Lochte turned to another US swimmer who once had a fall from grace – Michael Phelps: “I reached out to him because I knew he hit a low point in his life and he bounced back from it and I knew his answer was gonna be really honest because of our relationship over the years…”
Lochte lost his major endorsements following the incident, and recently was announced as a contestant on ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars”. The suspension was handed by the International Olympic Committee, United States Olympic Committee and USA Swimming.
As we previously reported, the U.S. Olympic Committee officially suspended Ryan for 10 months on Wednesday. “It unfairly maligned our hosts and diverted attention away from the historic achievements of Team USA”, said USOC CEO Scott Blackmun.
“Each of the athletes has accepted responsibility for his actions and accepted the appropriate sanctions”.
All four men will have their monthly stipends withheld, and none will be allowed to accompany the USA team on its post-Games visit to the White House. He’s now being charged in Brazil for filing a false police report. Bentz – who, at 20 years old, is younger than the legal drinking age of 21 – has been ordered to perform 10 hours of community service for breaking the curfew imposed on young athletes.
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Ryan Lochte apologised for his exaggerated claims about being robbed at gunpoint. “Unfortunately, this story line took attention away from the athletes who deserved it the most”. The swimmer told DeGeneres he’d agreed to appear on the program before the gas station incident went down in Rio.
