Ryan Lochte says he ‘paid’ for ‘mistake’ at ‘big cost’ four years after he ‘lied’ about Rio de Janeiro Olympics robbery
RYAN Lochte insisted he has “paid” for his “mistake” at a “big cost” four years after he “lied” about being robbed at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
Back in 2016, Ryan and three teammates on the American swimming team claimed that they were robbed at gunpoint at a gas station.
After the news came out that they lied, Ryan faced a charge of providing a false claim of robbery to the police.
While the charge was dropped, Ryan was suspended by USA swimming for 10 months.
Ryan spoke to New York Daily News about the scandal, stating: “It was a mistake that happened in my life that I paid for.
“I’m human. I made a mistake and that was a big cost to me and my family and now I’ve moved forward from that and I’m going to keep moving forward and focus on my family and focus on, hopefully, making my fifth Olympics.”
The 35-year-old athlete said that he has been keeping a low profile while training and is currently working toward his fifth Olympics, which has been delayed until 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
He said: “I’m in better shape than I was before all this. I’m in a good spot and I’m just getting ready for another year.
“I have an extra year of getting stronger in the water, of fixing certain things … that I wasn’t ready for.”
Despite his hopeful comeback, Ryan did not leave the scandal unscathed.
The swimwear brand Speedo – who had repped Ryan since the beginning of his career – was the first to drop him after they said they “cannot condone” his behavior during the Rio de Janeiro scandal.
Ralph Lauren, skincare company Syneron-Candela and Japanese mattress maker Airweave all followed suit on the same day and dropped him as a spokesperson.
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The 12-time Olympic medalist opened up about the scandal in the first teaser for his upcoming documentary In Deep With Ryan Lochte.
He said in the trailer: “I went from making millions to zero.”
The Florida native continued of the serious incident: “Something could have ended my life because I was stupid.”
Ryan is currently married to Kayla Reid.
The couple, who married in 2018, share two kids: 3-year-old son Caiden and 1-year-old daughter Liv.
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