Ryan Lochte, swimmers 'fabricated' robbery story, report says

Rea White

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Ryan Lochte, swimmers 'fabricated' robbery story, report says image

Ryan Lochte and three other swimmers "fabricated" the story of being robbed in Rio, ABC News reported Thursday. Another report, in British publication the Daily Mail, said the swimmers were actually being forced to pay for damage when a gun was drawn on them at a gas station.

Matt Gutman, a senior national correspondent for ABC, reported on social media Thursday that video evidence showed Lochte "fighting" with security at a gas station, citing sources in Brazil.

MORE: Three swimmers detained in Rio

According to the Daily Mail story, a source said that the swimmers were stopped at a gas station and damaged a bathroom. The report states the source said:

"The security guy saw them and started arguing with them — telling them they had to pay. They refused and argued back. He pointed his gun at them and insisted they pay for the damage — they gave him some money and left."

The BBC also called the story into question, citing closed-circuit video footage that shows the four swimmers returning to the Olympic Village and taking items from their pockets, "possibly wallets and phones."

(UPDATE: The Daily Mail posted screen captures of the footage, which showed the four returning to the Olympic village at 6:50 a.m. local time. Those images make the athletes' stories even less credible. They claimed they left the French House club at 4 a.m. to return to the Olympic Village. Such a trip should take about 30 to 40 minutes, not nearly three hours, Judge Keyla Blank wrote in ordering Lochte and teammate Jimmy Feigen's passports seized (per USA Today Sports.))

Lochte has left Brazil, according to NPR. The USOC issued a statement Thursday, saying the three swimmers remaining in Rio were "cooperating with authorities" and that they are scheduling a time to speak further with those authorities.

The story has been unfolding all week. It started with a report from Lochte's mother saying the swimmer had been robbed at gunpoint in Rio after attending a party for a friend. The IOC denied the claims, but then backtracked and blamed an ill-informed report from the USOC.

MORE: Internet reacts on Lochte

Lochte himself addressed the situation later on Sunday in an interview with NBC's Billy Bush. The story has changed a little, but four American swimmers — Lochte, Feigen, Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger — claimed they were robbed at gunpoint.


Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger are escorted out of the Rio airport to meet with police. (Getty Images)

Lochte claimed his wallet, but not his phone, was taken.

DeCOURCY:  Brazil embarrassing itself

NBC's Matt Lauer said Wednesday night that he had spoken on the phone with Lochte and that the swimmer "strongly denied" any implication that he and his teammates had made up the story, saying that was "absolutely not the case." He did note one difference in Lochte's story, as the swimmer told him the gun had not been put to his head but "pointed in his general direction."

There were other notable inconsistences in Lochte's account. For example, he initially said men identifying themselves as police pulled over their taxi. But on Wednesday, Lochte told NBC that the taxi had stopped at a gas station so the swimmers could use the restroom. It was then, he told Lauer, that they were robbed.

MORE: Lochte's attorney defends robbery story

Lochte attributed the inconsistences to a "traumatic mischaracterization" caused by stress.

By mid-week, with the investigation into the claims in full swing, a judge ordered Lochte and Feigen to remain in Brazil and that their passports be taken. Lochte had already left and arrived in Charlotte, N.C. Conger and Bentz were pulled from their plane and not allowed to leave Rio.

Rea White