RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) – US swimming star Ryan Lochte has been charged with making a false statement about being robbed at gunpoint during the Olympics, Brazilian police said Thursday. The 32-year-old gold medal-winner risks a jail sentence, Brazilian media quoted one police official as saying, although the judicial authorities had yet to confirm that. “Ryan Lochte was charged with the crime of falsely reporting a crime,” police said in a statement, adding that […]
Tag: Ryan Lochte
Olympics: Sponsors drop Lochte after Rio scandal
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – by Susan STUMME Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte lost four sponsorship deals Monday — a major financial hit for the embattled gold medalist stemming from his spurious claim of being robbed at gunpoint in Rio, a story later discredited by Brazilian police. Global swimwear brand Speedo and US fashion label Ralph Lauren topped the list of companies that ended their relationships with the 32-year-old Lochte, with the former noting his actions […]
Rio sends off Games with tropical tribute
(Reuters) A blustery storm, a touch of melancholy and a sense of pride converged at the closing ceremony of the 2016 Olympics on Sunday as Brazil breathed a collective sigh of relief at having pulled off South America’s first Games. It was far from a perfect execution by Brazil, which battled with empty seats, security scares and a mysterious green diving pool. But two late gold medals for the host country in its two […]
Lochte apologizes to Brazil on national TV
(REUTERS) U.S. gold medalist Ryan Lochte admitted to Brazil’s largest broadcaster Saturday night that he had exaggerated his story about being robbed at gunpoint in Rio – but insisted he did not lie. In an interview aired on Globo TV after the proud soccer country won its first Olympic gold in a penalty shootout, Lochte apologized to the nation. “I’m sorry,” one of America’s most decorated Olympic swimmers said. “Brazil doesn’t deserve that.” The […]
Video undermines US Olympic swimmers’ ‘mugging’ story
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) – by Sebastian Smith Allegations that star US swimmer Ryan Lochte invented a story about him and three team mates being mugged at gunpoint in Rio strengthened Thursday with video footage showing them in a gas station altercation. The controversy took a dramatic new twist after the leaking of security camera footage from a gas station on Brazil’s Globo television. This came hours after two of the swimmers were hauled off […]
Ryan Lochte says gun held to head in taxi hold-up
(Reuters) Armed robbers posing as police officers held a gun to the forehead of U.S. gold medalist swimmer Ryan Lochte in a taxi hold-up in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, feeding concern over safety at the first Olympic Games in South America. Lochte was returning to the Athletes’ Village from a party hosted by the French Games delegation, with swimming team mates Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and Jimmy Feigen, when armed men carrying police […]





