Twitter reacts to Ryan Lochte’s Rio escape job
By Brad Weiss
A judge in Brazil tried to keep Ryan Lochte in Rio to investigate his story about being robbed, but Lochte bolted for the United States before they could keep him there.
For years, swimmer have been trying to catch Ryan Lochte in the pool as he has established himself as one of the greatest swimmers of his era. On Wednesday, Brazilian judge Keyla Blanc tried to catch him before he left Rio for the United States but, like many international swimmers, he was too slow for Lochte. The judge ordered to have Lochte and teammate James Feigen’s passport seized, but Lochte had already landed in the United States.
Lochte and Feigen were a part of four American swimmers who were allegedly robbed at gunpoint during the Olympics. When differences in their stories came up, the judge ordered that they remain in Brazil for questioning. Lochte apparently told authorities that they were robbed by one man at gunpoint, while Feigen said that it was multiple robbers.
While Lochte is back in the United States, Feigen is still in Brazil, and will cooperate with authorities. On Thursday, the other two American swimmers, Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger, were pulled off their plane as they tried to leave Rio.
The judge is concerned with the timeline, as the Americans appear on camera returning the Athlete’s village at 7am. The issue with that is that they were supposedly robbed around 4am, and when they returned to the village, they were laughing.
When the news of the robbery was announced on Sunday, the International Olympic Committee denied the claim. Eventually, the IOC apologized and tried to blame the misinformation on the U.S. Olympic Committee. Lochte won a gold medal as a member of the United States 4x200m freestyle relay team during the Olympics, which was his only medal in the Games.
When news of Lochte’s escape from Rio became public knowlege, Twitter exploded, and some of the tweets are absolutely incredible.
I told you Ryan Lochte is that dude who you gotta ghost on at the party because he'll get you arrested.
— Brandimena Cunk 😾 (@ItsTheBrandi) August 18, 2016
They have a Lochte learn about escaping foreign jurisdictions https://t.co/oKQfPdWavT
— Tango & Cash Money Records (@gheorghetheblog) August 18, 2016
whatever happens in rio apparently stays in rio https://t.co/nooAivn7cc
— Jason Gay (@jasongay) August 18, 2016
That moment when you realize that a future 30 for 30 episode is happening in real time. https://t.co/n6HM8IRkVw
— Hunter Felt (@HunterFelt) August 18, 2016
BREAKING: Ryan Lochte wins gold in Getting the Hell Outta Dodge.
— Jorge Padilla (@jorge_law) August 18, 2016
🇧🇷: Senhor Lochte, we need you to come back to Brasil to clear some things up.
— Bunkie Perkins (@BunkiePerkins) August 18, 2016
Lochte: NEW PHONE WHO DIS?
This story will likely evolve over the coming days, so stay tuned.