In a detailed account, he said that Lochte “pulled to the ground a framed metal advertisement that was loosely anchored to the brick wall” and claimed “Ryan and the security guards had a heated verbal exchange” but said no guns were pulled. Another guard also drew his handgun and both were pointed at the group. I yelled to them to come back toward us and they complied. However, I am confident that some video angles have not been shown that would further substantiate my account. Bentz, who arrived back in the U.S. early Friday, emphasised that he was considered a witness, not a suspect, by Brazilian police and never made a false statement about the incident at any time.
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In a tweet, the Olympic gold medalist did not go into details about what happened early Sunday morning at a Rio gas station.
Lochte, who flew to the United States the day after Sunday’s incident, said he should have been more careful and candid in his account but said it had been traumatic to have a man point a gun at him in a foreign country and demand money.
Lochte said in a lengthy post on Instagram that he was apologising for his role in taking the focus away from other Olympic athletes.
“Regardless of the behavior of anyone else that night, I should have been much more responsible in how I handled myself and for that am sorry to my teammates, my fans, my fellow competitors, my sponsors, and the hosts of this great event”, he said. “I am very proud to represent my country in Olympic competition and this was a situation that could and should have been avoided”.
Ryan Lochte, the second-most decorated Olympic swimmer in US history, and three others from Team USA might face disciplinary action from the International Olympic Committee for the incident at a Rio gas station that continues to reverberate at the global athletic event.
Lochte had claimed that he and his teammates were held up at gunpoint, saying that one of the assailants cocked a gun and put it against his forehead. During a news conference Thursday, Fernando Veloso, chief of Rio’s civil police, said the men were drunk and smashed up a gas station bathroom before being confronted by security guards.
According to Bentz, the guards then lowered their guns and gestured for the men to leave.
Jack Conger and Gunnar Bentz had their passports released and were allowed to leave Brazil after being questioned by investigators.
Additionally, Andrada says they accept the apology of the United States Olympic Committee.
After that, Bentz says that a customer translated for them and they were told they needed to pay money in order to leave. When they realized there was no bathroom inside the gas station, Conger said they walked behind the gas station and urinated outside.
International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams said an investigatory panel will “hear all sides” regarding the gas station ordeal, which linked the American swimmers with vandalism and subsequent claims they were robbed at gunpoint – claims that have since been rejected by Rio police. Bentz was “unsure why” Lochte pulled the ad down.
Feigen is still resolving his charges before returning to the U.S.
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Although the US swimmer clearly says the word “sorry” in his lengthy post, he doesn’t address the story possibly being made up and instead apologizes for not being more careful and candid in Rio.
