Biodun Iginla, BBC News

Biodun Iginla, BBC News

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

US swimmers Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger stopped at Rio airport


Jack Conger, June 2016 file photoImage copyrightAP
Image captionConger (pictured) and his teammate Bentz were trying to fly out of Rio

by Enrique Krause and Biodun Iginla, BBC News,  Rio de Janeiro
The Brazilian authorities have stopped US swimmers Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger from boarding a flight at Rio de Janeiro airport, the US Olympic Committee has confirmed.
The two men were taken off a plane, bound for the US, for questioning late on Wednesday.
Two teammates - Ryan Lochte and James Feigen - were barred from leaving the country, but Lochte had already left.
Police have queried their accounts of a robbery they reported in Rio on Sunday.
The four swimmers said they had been robbed at gunpoint in a taxi in Rio.
But police say their account of when they arrived at the Olympic village does not square with CCTV recordings.
Gunnar Bentz. Photo: June 2016Image copyrightAP
Image captionBentz was not in the 4x200m freestyle relay final, but still received a gold medal
Lochte's lawyer told the BBC he got back to the US two days ago.
"He arrived back before the judge issued anything," said Jeffrey Ostrow.
"He was never asked to remain for further investigation or for any other purpose after he met with Brazilian authorities after he gave a statement."
The swimmer's Twitter account shows footage of him arriving back in the United States on Monday.
Lochte is one of the most successful swimmers in history, with 12 Olympic medals and he once had his own reality television show in the US.
In Rio, he swam in two events, winning gold in the 4x200m freestyle relay.
Feigen, who told the San Antonio Express he is still in Brazil, won gold in the 4x100m freestyle relay.
A police source said Feigen had been detained by police before he boarded the plane, Reuters reports.
Bentz competed in the 4x200m preliminaries, but not the final. He still received a gold medal after the US team's win.
Accounts of what happened to the swimmers have been confusing from the beginning.
Lochte first told US TV network NBC about it but International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams said reports of the robbery were "absolutely not true".
The US Olympic Committee (USOC) later confirmed the swimmers' accounts.
Ryan Lochte attends a press conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo: August 2016Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES
Image captionLochte said a man robbed him at gunpoint while returning in a taxi to the Olympic village
Lochte himself told police that he and team mates Feigen, Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger had all attended a party in the French Olympic team's hospitality house on Saturday evening.
He said that during their return drive to the Olympic village, their cab was stopped by men posing as police officers.
One of the men held a gun to his head, Lochte said, and robbed him of his money and personal belongings.
But police investigating the case say they have found no evidence of the robbery. They also point to "inconsistencies" in the swimmers' accounts.
Lochte and Feigen told police they and their fellow swimmers had returned to the Olympic village at 04:00 local time (08:00 GMT).
But CCTV recordings appear to show the swimmers returning to the Olympic village at 07:00 local time.
James Feigen during a swimming training session prior to the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016.Image copyrightAP
Image captionFeigen won gold with the 4x100m freestyle relay
Police say they have not been able to track down the driver who the swimmers said drove them back to the village.
They also said that Feigen and Lochte gave different accounts of how many men robbed them.
Investigators have requested a search warrant for the rooms the swimmers stayed in with a view to examining Feigen's mobile phone.

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