U.S. Swimmer Ryan Lochte Was Reportedly Robbed At Gun Point In Rio

by Larry Leo

August 14, 20162 Comments

U.S. Swimmer Ryan Lochte Was Reportedly Robbed At Gun Point In Rio

Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

After being reported that U.S. swimmer Ryan Lochte was robbed at gunpoint late Saturday/early Sunday morning in a taxi about to leave a club in Rio, IOC Director of Communications came out and completely denied it was true...

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But then Lochte’s mom confirmed to USA Today that it did happen...

quote:
“I think they’re all shaken up. There were a few of them,” Ileana Lochte said. “No, they were just, they just took their wallets and basically that was it.”

Then the Washington Post confirmed the incident with more detail...

quote:
Brazilian swimmer Thiago Pereira’s representative told The Post’s Dom Phillips that Lochte was in a taxi leaving Club France on the Rodrigo de Freitas lagoon when the taxi was robbed. Video on O Globo shows Lochte and Pereira at what appears to be a rave.

Flávio Perez said the incident, in which Lochte was unharmed, occurred after a birthday celebration at a Brazilian club.

“Thiago Pereira and his wife Gabriela Pauletti were in Club France, the French house in Brazil, and they were celebrating the birthday of a friend in common,” said Perez, Pereira’s spokesman. “Lochte was also in the same place, commemorating the same birthday. Ryan and Thiago are friends. Thiago and his wife left earlier, they left alone, the two of them. Thiago and his wife went back to their hotel. Then Thiago, on finding out what happened, called Ryan. Ryan is well, and Thiago said that the robbery, according to Ryan, was in the taxi. The taxi was robbed.”

And then the IOC was like, oh wait, we were wrong, he got robbed...