This year’s Olympic games in Brazil have been under scrutiny for security issues and the crimes that have been committed in around where some of the events have taken place. On Sunday, the most high-profile crime took place as it was committed against Ryan Lochte and three other American swimmers.
Lochte and his U.S. teammates Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and Jimmy Feigen were all robbed at gunpoint in Rio early Sunday morning.
News of the robbery was first reported by USA Today and Fox Sports Australia and Lochte, a 12-time Olympic medalist, later spoke about the terrifying ordeal with NBC’s Today show.
“We got pulled over, in the taxi, and these guys came out with a badge, a police badge, no lights, no nothing just a police badge and they pulled us over,” Lochte recalled. “They pulled out their guns, they told the other swimmers to get down on the ground — they got down on the ground. I refused, I was like we didn’t do anything wrong, so — I’m not getting down on the ground.
"And then the guy pulled out his gun, he cocked it, put it to my forehead and he said, ‘Get down,’ and I put my hands up, I was like 'whatever.'"
The robbers made off with money and credit cards, but no Olympic medals were stolen.
Lochte later took to Twitter to let everyone he and his teammates were okay. He also thanked everyone for their support and hinted that he may return to the pool for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
A spokesman for the International Olympic Committee initially said that any reports of the swimmers being robbed at gunpoint were false, but later confirmed that the information was in fact correct.
The robbers remain at large.