Remember that time we thought Ryan Lochte actually was robbed at gunpoint?
It was just one week ago, but it feels like ages since the Olympic swimmer exaggerated the details of an incident at a Rio de Janeiro gas station with three other U.S. teammates.
Bizarre details still are coming out from that Sunday morning in Rio, and the latest odd tale comes from FOX Sports Australia’s Ben Way, who was the first to break the news via the following tweet:
The crazy part here involves how Way stumbled upon the story: Through what Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch describes as a “total fluke.”
In an interview with Deitsch, Way says he and his crew had just finished an interview at a Rio hotel and were unable to hail a taxi, so they took an Olympic shuttle instead. By sheer coincidence, they bumped into Ryan Lochte’s mother, who looked visibly shaken and upset. Naturally, Way asked what was wrong.
“She went on to say how (Ryan had) gone to a party with Thiago (later confirmed as Brazilian swimmer Thiago Pereira),” Way told Deitsch. “He’d been held up at gunpoint and they stole his wallet. He was with three teammates at the time. I said, ‘So he’s definitely OK?’ to which she replied, ‘Yes, he called me straight afterwards. It’s terrifying as you’d imagine, but he’s back at the base and I’m going there to meet him now. I’m just waiting on a message.’ ”
Way shared the news on Twitter shortly after the chance meeting, and FOX Sports Australia ran the story Sunday morning.
Of course, we later learned that Lochte and Co. hadn’t been so much “robbed at gunpoint” as they had been forced to pay for a sign that Lochte had vandalized. But judging by Way’s account, it appears Lochte couldn’t even tell the truth to his own mother.
We maybe can see embellishing a story in a national television interview, but doing so in a conversation with your mom is a new low.
Thumbnail photo via Kevin Jairaj/USA TODAY Sports Images
