The Olympics were meant to revamp Rio’s sketchy image, but the city’s dangerous underbelly remains a problem. Just ask 12-time Olympic medal-winning swimmer Ryan Lochte, who was reportedly robbed at gunpoint this morning.
The reports were confirmed true by Lochte’s own mother to USA Today, but strangely the IOC has denied it. IOC spokesman Mark Adams said the reports were “absolutely not true.”
Ileana Lochte seemingly would have no reason to lie about this, whereas the IOC is incentivized to try to depict its host city in a positive light.The IOC had hoped the Olympics would showcase Brazil’s progress to the world, but it has instead magnified the country’s problems of crime, political corruption, and economic inequality. The IOC is a notoriously shady organization and if it Lochte actually was robbed at gun point they will have for no reason made themselves look like liars.
But then again the IOC might be telling the truth after all because they’re not the only ones saying the robbery never happened.
David Marsh, Lochte’s personal coach and the head women’s coach for the U.S. swim team, said he was with Lochte later Sunday morning and the swimmer did not say anything about being held up.
According to the reports, Lochte and at least one teammate were in a cab that stopped to get gas when they were held up and confronted by people who had guns and knives. Lochte’s mom said he had his wallet taken but was not harmed.
Let’s hope we don’t hear too many more stories like this during the remainder of the Olympics.
