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US Swimmer Gunnar Bentz Details Account of Claimed Robbery in Rio

Jack Conger, one of the USA swimmers involved in the alleged gas station robbery, released an online statement detailing the events of Sunday morning.

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Lochte’s attorney, Jeff Ostrow, said the incident still amounted to a robbery and the new information and video did not change that view.

He said he accepted responsibility for his role in the case and had “learned some valuable lessons”.

“I am grateful for my USA Swimming teammates and the USOC, and appreciate all of the efforts of the IOC, the Rio ’16 Host Committee, and the people of Brazil who welcomed us to Rio and worked so hard to make sure that these Olympic Games provided a lifetime of great new memories”.

Bentz released a statement through the University of Georgia, where he’s a junior, saying that he “regretted this situation has drawn attention away from the Olympics, which have been hosted so incredibly well by Brazil and its citizens”.

A lawyer for two of the swimmers-Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger-backed Rio authorities’ account.

Police said Feigen, the last of the four swimmers still in Brazil, had agreed at a hearing with a judge on Friday to pay 35,000 reais ($11,000) to a sporting charity after giving false testimony.

Feigen did not join Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger when they left Thursday night because he was ordered to donate nearly $11,000 to a local sports charity before charges against him would be dropped.

Feigen is still resolving his charges before returning to the U.S.

Srour said Brazilian judges are notorious for pursuing cases such as Lochte’s if charges are filed and that Brazilian authorities could use Interpol and other global organizations to complicate his overseas travel.

Bentz also stressed that not all of the security camera footage from the night in question encapsulates what occurred at the gas station, but he made it clear the situation escalated when Lochte and the security guards “had a heated verbal exchange”.

“How is it anymore “traumatic” for you to be in a foreign country than our other athletes?” asked one.

Bentz and Conger were jeered by angry Brazilians shouting “liar” and “fake” before leaving for Rio airport on Thursday.

The debacle prompted both wild speculation and social media mockery, which quickly turned to scorn after the official account went public.

Lochte admits that he should have behaved more responsibly. The guards made a money gesture with their hands and regardless of how it started, the swimmers had a gun pointed at them and they were not allowed to leave until they had given the money, the sources said. Should he and the other swimmers involved face consequences?

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Unlike Lochte, who won the first of his six career gold medals in Athens in 2004, the pair were competing in their maiden Olympics and were yet to reap the commercial benefits of standing atop a Games podium.

SHANGHAI CHINA- JULY 26 Silver medalist Michael Phelps of United States looks on with gold medalist Ryan Lochte after the Men's 200m Freestyle Final during Day Eleven of the 14th FINA World Championships at the Oriental Sports Center on July 2