U.S. Olympian swimmer Ryan Lochte and three others members of the U.S. Olympic Swim Team were allegedly robbed at point in Rio early Sunday daybreak .
According to reports , Lochte , Gunnar Bentz , Jack Conger , and Jimmy Feigen were in a taxi , headed back to the Olympic Village from a political party at the French Olympic squad ’s hospitality house when the taxicab was pluck over . People posing as " armed police officers " instruct all four of them to get out of the motorcar and get on the ground . Lochte says he refused because they " did n’t do anything wrong . " Then one of the robbers put a accelerator to Lochte ’s head .
" He cocked it , put it to my frontal bone and he said , ' Get down , ' and I put my hands up . I was like ' whatever . ' He took our money , he accept my wallet — he leave my cell telephone , he left my credentials,“Lochte told NBC .
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None of the four athletes were physically harm .
One of the more mysterious vista of the account is how it was handled by the IOC , who initially denied that a looting had taken station . They release a statement Sunday saying that the composition were"absolutely not true,“and that they had speak to Lochte and the USOC . After Lochte had pass public with the story , the IOC admitted that a looting had taken place . Their earlier affirmation , where they arrogate to have talked to Lochte , would seem to be false or something else strange is taking place behind the tantrum .
While what go on in that communicating dislocation is n’t clear , it ’s obvious this kind of press is n’t optimum for the IOC . specially when it refer a major athlete . There have been a circumstances of marvellous , heart - warming story to occur out of the Rio Olympics , but there ’s no deny a immense turn of problem as well , with the opulent effect taking place right next to some of the country ’s most impoverished neighborhood . AnOlympic officeholder was shotand died . Three Swedish touristswere kidnapped . Amedia buswas attacked . Stray bulletspunctured a tentwhere a press league was taking place .
The robbery happening to an athlete of Lochte ’s stature only serves to foreground the more troubling side of what is taking situation in Rio . It helps shine a spotlight on the wealth crack , the displacement , the political corruption , and other exit that are unavoidable topic in the broader picture of this summer ’s Olympic Games .
Lochte will appear onThe Today ShowMonday to talk about what happened . Just like the real Olympics on NBC , the intelligence will be aired a day later on tape delay .
WEDNESDAY UPDATE : The situation took a strange go Wednesday whena Brazilian judge orderedRyan Lochte and Jimmy Feigen to deliver their passports and ride out in the country due to inconsistency in their testimonial , concord tomultiple reports . The judge wrote that the police involve more time to determine if the swimmers had filed a false law write up .
Among the reported inconsistencies are Images from the club the swimmers were at infringe with the timeline they gave police . Additionally , The Daily Mailreleased Olympic Village surveillance footage that allegedly register the jock returning from the incident , joking around .
" Local police arrive at the Olympic Village this a.m. and involve to encounter with Ryan Lochte and James Feigen and garner their pass in gild to stop up further testimony from the athlete , " said Patrick Sandusky , Chief External Affairs Officer , United States Olympic Committeein a statement . " The swimming team move out of the village after their competition end , so we were not able to make the athletes available . Additionally , as part of our standard protection communications protocol , we do not make athlete travel architectural plan public and therefore can not sustain the athlete ’ current locating . "
At that stop , Lochte had already returned to the United States . NBC reports that Feigen is still in Rio , but there are no reports useable as to his whereabouts . Sandusky told theUSA Today , " There was no effort to detain anyone . "
That was probably already enough of a twist to leaveLaw and Orderstaff writers saying that they wish they had thought of this themselves . But Wednesday night , Bentz and Conger were detain at the airdrome after they had already made it through customs duty . They were not named in the original request to hold the passports of Feigen and Lochte .
" We can substantiate that Jack Conger and Gunnar Bentz were transfer from their flight of stairs to the United States by Brazilian authorities , " a spokesman for the United States Olympic Committee told theNew York Times . " We are gathering further information . "
Shortly after Conger and Bentz were detained , The Today Show’sMatt Lauer reportedthat he had just talk to Lochte , who says his return flight was his prescheduled escape . Lochte maintain that the tarradiddle he told was accurate .
" He stuck to most of the story , " Lauer continue . " He did change one affair . I would say he softened some thing , or step back . One thing he did not say this time . He did n’t say he was pulled over by these people pretending to be police force .
" They had gone to the bathroom in a gas station . They nonplus back to the hack and when they differentiate the hack number one wood to ‘ go , ’ he did n’t move . They suppose ‘ let ’s go again , we have amaze to get out of here ’ and again the hack driver did n’t move . And that is when he says two man approached the car with guns and badges . "
Lochte also said that the gun was n’t held to his heading . The say assailant " sharpen the gun in [ his ] direction , " according to Lauer ’s report . But he wield that the rest of the taradiddle is as they told it initially . None of the other swimmers spill the beans to the mass medium Wednesday .
