Australia And America In New Rio Race: To See Whose Swimmers Can Get Into The Most Trouble

Why is it that swimmers always cause the most trouble?

Yesterday, Brazilian authorities disputed the account of U.S. swimmer Ryan Lochte, who claimed earlier in the week that he and fellow teammates Jimmy Feigen, Jack Conger and Gunnar Bentz had been held-up at gunpoint by thieves posing as armed police officers.

Turns out Lochte was being a little fanciful with his recollection of events.

According to the New York Times, footage has emerged of the foursome making a stop at a Shell gas station early on Sunday morning, following a boozy night out.

The station’s owner said the men were “obviously drunk”; they reportedly vandalised the bathroom and other parts of the station (damaging a door and tearing down a sign) before urinating freely (and, presumably, not in a designated urination area).

At this point, a security guard brandished his gun. The quartet then gave money to the manager, to pay for damages, presumably, before leaving.

Now, Lochte and Feigen could face charges of falsely reporting a crime, America’s ABC News suggests. Lochte’s lawyer, however, has stood by his client’s description of events.

“No matter what happened at that gas station, the swimmers were robbed by people with a gun appearing to be law enforcement,” he said.

He was not aware of Brazilian “federal police recommending charges for filing a false police report.”

Though Lochte is now back in the States, the remaining swimmers are still in Brazil. In fact, Bentz and Conger were removed from a flight headed home and detained yesterday evening. The trio is cooperating with police, according to a U.S. Olympic Committee spokesman.

Australian swimmers Josh Palmer and Emma McKeon may not have instigated an international incident, but they’ve certainly started a mild storm of their own following a night on the town too.

According to ABC News (Australia’s, this time), four-time medallist McKeon and also-ran Palmer failed to return to the Olympic Village on Wednesday morning after leaving a nightclub in Copacabana.

As a result, Australian chef de mission Kitty Chiller has said in a statement that neither will be allowed to participate in the closing ceremony.

After leaving the nightclub, Palmer was reportedly involved a hold-up; he was apparently approached by a man who demanded he withdraw $AU1,000 in cash from a nearby ATM. He was later discovered by two businessmen, who described the swimmer as “disoriented”.

McKeon, however, has been barred for not telling her team manager that she wouldn’t be returning to the Olympic Village on Wednesday morning. She decided to stay with friends in the Copa district after exiting the nightclub, following AOC safety protocol by not travelling alone.

The rest of their mates have been punished too: the Aussie swim team has a new curfew of 2am for the remainder of the Olympics.

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie?

Photo: Instagram / Twitter.