Rio Olympics 2016: Ryan Lochte confirms he was robbed at gunpoint

Marcus Dinitto

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Rio Olympics 2016: Ryan Lochte confirms he was robbed at gunpoint image

Ryan Lochte and the U.S. Olympic Committe have confirmed that the swimmer was robbed at gunpoint in Rio early Sunday morning.  

After Lochte's mother, Ileana, told media outlets about the incident, the IOC denied the claims.

Ileana Lochte told USA Today that her son and at least one teammate were robbed as they were on their way to meet Brazilian swimmer Thiago Pereira for a party. An editor for NBC News tweeted that Lochte had confirmed the report with the network. 

Lochte, according to NBC Nightly News, said men with police badges pulled guns on him and his friends and ordered them to get down on the ground.  When Lochte refused, one of the men cocked his weapon and put it to Lochte's forehead. 

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The USOC later confirmed the incident and said that four U.S. swimmers were robbed — Lochte, Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and Jimmy Feigen — by "individuals posing as armed police officers." All four athletes are safe and cooperating with authorities, the USOC said.

According to Ileana’s story, the teammates were mugged by a group of people with guns and knives when a cab they were in stopped for gas.

“I think they’re all shaken up. There were a few of them,” she said to USA Today. “… They just took their wallets and basically that was it.”

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Ileana’s story was first reported by Ben Way of Fox Sports Australia.

The USA Today story reported that Marsh said he had been with the swimmer on Sunday morning and that he didn't say anything about it.

 

Marcus Dinitto