United States Olympic gold medal winning swimmer, Ryan Lochte has issued an apology for not being “more careful” in his description of events that occurred in Rio Rio at a gas station over the weekend.
The Olympic swimmer had made claims that he and 3 United States teammates were allegedly robbed at gunpoint by at a gas station in Rio, a claim authorities denied.
Lochte faced public backlash after investigations revealed that the details of his story may not have been factual.
Since his return to the United States, Lochte has issued a apology via social media.
“I want to apologize for my behavior last weekend, for not being more careful and candid in how I described the events of that early morning and for my role in taking the focus away from the many athletes fulfilling their dreams of participating in the Olympics. I waited to share these thought until it was confirmed that the legal situation was addressed and it was clear that my teammates would be arriving home safety.
It’s traumatic to be out late with your friends in a foreign county with a language barrier and have a stranger point a gun at you and demand money to let you leave, but regardless of the behavior of anyone else that night, I am sorry to my teammates, my fans, my fellow competitors, my sponsors, and the host of this great event. I am very proud to represent my country in Olympic competition and this was a situation that could have and should have been avoided. I accept responsibility for my role in this happening and have learned some valuable lessons.
I am grateful for my USA Swimming teammates and the USOC, and appreciate all of the efforts of the IOC, the Rio’16 Host Committee, and the people of Brazil who welcomed us to Rio and worked so hard to make sure that these Olympic Games provided a lifetime of great new memories. There has already been too much said and too many valuable resources dedicated to what happened last weekend, so I hope we spend our time celebrating the great stories and performances of these Games and look ahead to celebrating future successes.”
