UPDATE August 14, 2016, 12:54 PM: Ryan Lochte has confirmed that he and three other Olympic swimmers were robbed by fake police officers in Rio de Janiero, Variety reports.
In an interview with TODAY’s Billy Bush, Lochte said that he and Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and Jimmy Feigen were pulled over and held at gunpoint. They left the incident unharmed.
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“We got pulled over, in the taxi, and these guys came out with a badge —a police badge — no lights, no nothing,” Lochte recalled. “Just a police badge and they pulled us over. They pulled out their guns, they told the other swimmers to get down on the ground — they got down on the ground.”
“I refused, I was like, ‘We didn’t do anything wrong, so — I’m not getting down on the ground.’ ANd then the guy pulled out his gun, he cocked it, put it to my forehead and he said, ‘get down’ and I put my hands up. I was like ‘whatever.’ He took our money, he took my wallet — he left my cell phone, he left my credentials,” he continued.
ORIGINAL August 14, 2016, 11:39 AM: According to USA Today and Ryan Lochte’s mother, Lleana Lochte, Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte and one of his US teammates were robbed at gunpoint in Rio early Sunday morning.
Lleana said that Ryan and his teammate were on their way to meet Brazilian swimmer Thiago Pereira when their cab had to make a stop for gas. While at the gas station, men with guns and knives approached the swimmers and demanded their wallets.
Lochte immediately texted his mother explaining what had happened. Neither Lochte nor his teammate was hurt during the incident. Lleana said she was planning on meeting with her son later in the day.
“I think they’re all shaken up. There were a few of them,” Lleana said, explaining the incident as she knew it. “No, there were just, they just took their wallets and basically that was it.
Despite what Lleana claims, however, David Marsh, Lochte’s personal coach, said that the swimmer was not held up, but was looking into the incident to understand what exactly happened. IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said that the entire report was “absolutely not true.”
Hopefully the 12-time Olympic medalist will soon speak about what happened, clarifying the details. Lochte has been done competing in the 2016 Olympic Games since Thursday, though the official swimming competition ended Saturday night.
We’ll update the story as more information becomes available.
