American swimmer Ryan Lochte may have made up a story about getting robbed in Rio, but an Australian swimmer who actually did get mugged there is now facing real-life consequences.
Josh Palmer, who swam for Australia in the 100m breaststroke, declined to accompany his teammates back to the Olympic Village after an outing to a nightclub. Instead, he “headed to a beach kiosk with a friend and continued drinking,” according to a statement provided to CNN from Australian Olympics Committee head Kitty Chiller. After the friend left, Palmer was reportedly held up by a man who forced him to withdraw $1,000 from an ATM.
The team has now imposed a curfew on all of its swimmers and barred Palmer from attending the games’ closing ceremony. Also banned from the festivities: fellow Australian swimmer Emma McKeon, who according to Chiller chose to spend the night with friends in the Copa district without informing team management.
McKeon won one gold, two silver, and one bronze medal in Rio.
Meanwhile, CNN reports that the International Olympic Committee is now investigating the bizarre account of Lochte and some of his fellow US swimmers, who claimed to have been robbed while in Rio; officials have been skeptical of the account since it was first reported.