Ryan Lochte, Jimmy Feigen, Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger, and the 2016 Rio Olympics / 2010s
In the early hours of August 14, 2016, American swimmers Ryan Lochte, Jimmy Feigen, Gunnar Bentz, and Jack Conger returned from a night out during the Rio Olympics. Lochte and Feigen initially claimed that armed men posing as police had stopped their taxi, forced the swimmers out at gunpoint, and held a gun to Lochte's forehead. The story quickly became international news after Lochte's mother mentioned the alleged robbery to Fox Sports Australia presenter Ben Way, whose tweet that Lochte had been held up at gunpoint spread before authorities had verified it. Lochte then repeated the account in a widely watched interview with Billy Bush on NBC's Today show, creating the impression that American Olympic athletes had been victims of a terrifying armed crime in Rio.
The account began to unravel when Brazilian police reviewed surveillance footage and questioned the swimmers. Bentz and Conger were removed from a departing flight on August 17 and had their passports seized so they could testify. Investigators concluded that the group had stopped at a gas station in Barra da Tijuca, urinated outside the building, and become involved in a confrontation with security guards after Lochte allegedly pulled down or damaged a framed advertisement and other property. The guards were armed, but later accounts indicated that the weapons were not pointed at the swimmers in the manner Lochte had described. The athletes gave the guards 100 Brazilian reals and $20 in U.S. currency as compensation. Feigen later admitted that he had omitted the urination and poster-pulling from his statement, saying he had been trying to protect his teammates. Lochte eventually acknowledged that he had been drunk, that the robbery story was exaggerated, and that claiming a gun had been held to his head was a lie, although he continued to dispute some details of the Brazilian police account.
The scandal overshadowed legitimate Olympic performances and triggered intense criticism in both the United States and Brazil, where many felt the swimmers had unfairly portrayed Rio as more dangerous than the facts justified. USA Swimming and the U.S. Olympic Committee suspended Lochte for 10 months and Bentz, Conger, and Feigen for four months; the athletes lost access to financial support, training centers, Olympic-related events, and the team's White House delegation. Lochte was required to perform 20 hours of community service, while Bentz was assigned 10 hours. Speedo, Ralph Lauren, and other major sponsors severed ties with Lochte, with analysts estimating a severe long-term hit to his earning power. Lochte was charged in Brazil with falsely reporting a crime, but a Brazilian court dismissed the charge in July 2017, ruling that his conduct did not legally amount to filing a false crime report. The episode became known worldwide as 'Lochtegate,' spawning the hashtag #LochMess, television parodies, and a lasting example of how an intoxicated Olympic night out, an embellished story, and social media amplification can become an international sports scandal.
Follow the sources
Status and citations are supplied by the archive. AI concept art is an interpretation, not historical evidence.
AI concept artwork · not archival photography