IOC Opens Investigation Around Case of American Swimmers Caught in Lie
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has decided to open an investigation around the case of the American swimmers who lied about being assaulted in Rio de Janeiro.
The entity has created a disciplinary commission to handle the case and discuss if the four athletes should be punished - Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger, Jimmy Feigen and Ryan Lochte, who is a six-time Olympic gold medalist.
This Friday morning (19), a spokesman for the internacional committee said that the case had been closed.
Rio-2016 accepted the apologies from the swimmers and the US delegation and said the public humiliation they experienced is punishment enough.
The US committee could not be reached for comment.
The IOC's investigation does not have a deadline. Possible penalties range from fines and warnings to the loss of medals, on the more severe end.
The controversy around the four American swimmers began on Sunday (14), when Ryan Lochte, 32, said he had been assaulted in the early morning, in Rio de Janeiro, on his way back to the Olympic Village after leaving a party at Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas.
On Wednesday (17), a Rio judge found discrepancies in the athletes' accounts and ordered the seizure of Ryan Lochte and Jimmy Feigen's passports.
With the measure, they would not be allowed to leave Brazil. Lochte, however, had left the country 24 hours before the ruling.
The authorities concluded that the athletes had been involved in an altercation on their way back to the Olympic Village and no assault took place.
Translated by SUGHEY RAMIREZ