Ryan Lochte admits he over-exaggerated what happened at Rio gas station

The ASSOCIATED PRESS

8 years ago

In this file photo, United States’ Ryan Lochte checks his time in a men’s 4×200-meter freestyle heat during the swimming competitions at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Lochte and three other American swimmers claimed they were robbed at gunpoint early Sunday, Aug. 14, by thieves posing as police officers. (Michael Sohn, File/Associated Press)

In this Sunday, Aug. 14, 2016 frame from surveillance video released by Brazil Police, swimmers from the United States Olympic team appear with Ryan Lochte, right, at a gas station during the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A top Brazil police official said the swimmers damaged property at the gas station. (Brazil Police via Associated Press)

American Olympic swimmers Gunnar Bentz, right, and Jack Conger, behind, leave a police station in the Leblon neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, Aug. 18, 2016. The two were taken off their flight from Brazil to the U.S. on Wednesday by local authorities amid an investigation into a reported robbery targeting Ryan Lochte and his teammates. (Mauro Pimentel/Associated Press)

NEW YORK — American swimmer Ryan Lochte said he over-exaggerated what happened at a Rio de Janeiro gas station and acknowledged it was his “immature behavior” that got him and three teammates into a mess that consumed the final days of the Olympics.

Lochte, in a portion of an interview with NBC’s Matt Lauer that aired Saturday , continued backtracking from a story that he initially described as an armed robbery. Police have said the swimmers vandalized a bathroom after a night of partying and armed guards confronted them and asked them to pay for the damage.

“It’s how you want to make it look like,” Lochte said. “Whether you call it a robbery or whether you call it extortion or us just paying for the damages, we don’t know. All we know is that there was a gun pointed in our direction and we were demanded to give money.”

But he admitted that he understood that he was being told that the Americans had to pay for the damages or the police would be called.

At that point, Lauer said, “You’re striking a deal. Is that fair?”

“We just wanted to get out of there,” Lochte said, adding the swimmers were frightened.

Lauer told Lochte that his story had morphed from one about “the mean streets or Rio” to a negotiated settlement to cover up dumb behavior.

“That’s why I’m taking full responsibility for it, because I over-exaggerated the story,” Lochte said. “If I had never done that, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

Lochte, who dyed his hair white for the Games and had it turn a light shade of green from the pool, had changed his hair back to its regular color for the interview. As Brazilian police investigated his robbery claim, and eventually held his teammates for questioning while they sorted out his story, he had tweeted he intended to dye it back.