Ryan Lochte's Rio 2016 'robbery': Read the Olympic swimmer's apology in full

Disgraced Olympian says he found it 'traumatic' when a stranger pointed a gun at him late at night in a foreign country

Rob Crilly
New York
Friday 19 August 2016 16:27 BST
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Ryan Lochte of Team USA celebrates winning the gold medal during the medal ceremony of the men's 200m freestyle relay on day 4 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at Olympic Aquatics Stadium
Ryan Lochte of Team USA celebrates winning the gold medal during the medal ceremony of the men's 200m freestyle relay on day 4 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at Olympic Aquatics Stadium

The events of Sunday morning in a Brazilian service station have cast a dark shadow over the US Olympic team in Brazil.

Eager to draw a line under the growing diplomatic incident, the US Olympic Committee issued an apology on Wednesday and Jimmy Feigen paid $10,800 to a local charity by way of recompense.

Then on Thursday, Ryan Lochte - described as “excited” and “intoxicated” by police during the incident - issued his apology.

I want to apologise for my behaviour 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 thoughts until it was confirmed that the legal situation was addressed and it was clear that my teammates would arriving home safely.

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, but regardless of the behaviour of anyone else that night, I should have been much more responsible in how I handled myself and for that [I] am sorry to my teammates, my fans, my fellow competitors, my sponsors, and the hosts of this great event. 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.

Lochte and Feigen clash with one of the armed security guards

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.

Lochte arrived home in the US earlier this week and had been under intense pressure to apologise for the incident. Whether it will go far enough to placate his growing band of critics is another matter.

The last of the four swimmers still in Brazil, James Feigen, was expected to fly home on Friday.

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