US swimmer Ryan Lochte has apologised for his behaviour in
Rio and "for not being more careful and candid".
The gold medallist had claimed that he and a group of fellow
US swimmers had been robbed at a petrol station.
But CCTV footage contradicted that story, showing the men had
vandalised the petrol station after partying.
He said he had waited to issue the statement until it was
clear that his teammates would be returning to the US.
Rio's Mayor, Eduardo Paes, accepted the Americans' apologies:
"I confess that my only emotion towards them is pity and
contempt," he said.
"It's a shame that they're such weak characters, that
they have such personality flaws and it's up to the American Olympic Committee
to sort it out."
Mr Lochte had already left Brazil when the saga blew up but
two other swimmers. Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger, were pulled off a flight in
Rio and questioned by police over their version of events before being allowed
to leave.
Their teammate Jimmy Feigen was briefly detained and has now
agreed to pay nearly $11,000 (£8,416) to a Brazilian charity over his
involvement in the dispute.
Mr Lochte, 32, wrote:
"It's traumatic to be out late with your friends in a
foreign country - with a language barrier - and have a stranger point a gun at
you and demand money to let you leave....
"I am very proud to represent my country in Olympic
competition and this was a situation that could and should have been avoided.
"I accept responsibility for my role in this happening
and have learned some valuable lessons."
The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) has since
apologised to Brazil.
"The behaviour of these athletes is not acceptable, nor
does it represent the values of Team USA or the conduct of the vast majority of
its members," a USOC statement said.
"We apologise to our hosts in Rio and the people of
Brazil for this distracting ordeal in the midst of what should rightly be a
celebration of excellence."
The saga began when Mr Lochte's mother told US media that her
son had been robbed.
The swimmer then expanded on the story, describing in an
interview how he and three fellow US swimmers were robbed at gunpoint while
returning from a club.
He also tweeted that he and his teammates were the victims of
a robbery.
Rio police only became involved after seeing reports, and
soon said there were inconsistencies in the men's accounts.
On Thursday the head of Rio's civil police, Fernando Veloso,
said no robbery was committed against the athletes.
"They were not victims of the crimes they claimed,"
Mr Veloso said.
He told reporters that one or more of the athletes had
instead vandalized a toilet in a petrol station and then offered to pay for the
damage.
The Americans paid and left after armed security guards
intervened, he said.
One guard had justifiably drawn his gun after one of the
swimmers began behaving erratically, Mr Veloso added.
Lochte is one of the most successful swimmers in history,
with 12 Olympic medals, and he once had his own reality television show in the
US.
In Rio, he swam in two events, winning gold in the 4x200m freestyle relay
along with Conger.
Feigen won gold in the 4x100m freestyle relay.
Bentz competed in the 4x200m preliminaries, but not the
final. He still received a gold medal after the US team's win.
No comments:
Post a Comment