Ryan Lochte in first post-Rio interview: ‘I over-exaggerated that story’

Ryan Lochte sat down with Matt Lauer on NBC Nightly News and admitted to over-exaggerating his original robbery story.

Ryan Lochte has given his first interview since his robbery claims became one of the biggest stories to come out of the Rio Olympics, speaking with Matt Lauer on NBC Nightly News.

The Today host had previously spoken with the swimmer over the phone and was told a version of events that painted the altercation at a Rio de Janeiro gas station as a robbery. As more facts became available it appeared that Lochte and three fellow swimmers were vandalizing the establishment and were stopped by a security guard who demanded the store be reimbursed.

The 12-time Olympic medalist conceded that his original story was not fully truthful, leading to an even larger incident that dominated headlines throughout the week.

“I over-exagerrated that story. If I didn’t do that, we wouldn’t be in this mess… none of this would’ve happened it was my immature behavior.” 

Lochte’s fellow swimmers, Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and James Feigen are all back in the United States after the scandal led to the three having their passports seized by local authorities as they were held for further questioning.