U.S. swimmer Ryan Lochte issues an apology

U.S. swimmer Ryan Lochte issued an apology Friday, a day after police in Rio de Janeiro said he fabricated a robbery story that captured the nation’s attention.

Lochte, who left the Olympic Games in Rio earlier this week, shared the apology on Twitter.

He started the apology by writing: “I want to apologize for my behavior last weekend — for not being more careful and candid in how I described the events of that early morning and for my role in taking the focus away from the many athletes fulfilling their dreams of participating in the Olympics.”

Lochte said he and three other swimmers were robbed at gunpoint early Sunday morning. But surveillance footage from a gas station showed that the four had been confronted by security guards after allegedly destroying property. A security guard reportedly did point a gun at the group.

The three other swimmers were questioned by authorities in Brazil after Lochte had returned to the United States.

Lochte wrote: “It’s traumatic to be out late with your friends in a foreign country — with a language barrier — and have a stranger point a gun at you and demand money to let you leave, but regardless of the behavior of anyone else that night, I should have been much more responsible in how I handled myself and for that am sorry to my teammates, my fans, my fellow competitors, my sponsors, and the host of this great event.”

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This story was originally published August 19, 2016 at 9:30 AM.