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Brazilian Police Accuse 4 U.S. Olympic Swimmers of Vandalism, False Robbery Claim

HeadlineAug 19, 2016

In news from the Olympics, Brazilian police have accused a group of U.S. Olympic swimmers of vandalism during an incident at gas station last weekend and say they are now considering whether to recommend charges against the four men, including gold medalist Ryan Lochte. The swimmers told authorities they were robbed by gunmen impersonating police officers in the early hours of Sunday as they returned in a taxi to the Athletes Village from a party in the city. However, after an investigation, Rio police said there had been no robbery. U.S. Olympic Committee CEO Scott Blackmun said in a statement, “We apologize to our hosts in Rio and the people of Brazil for this distracting ordeal in the midst of what should rightly be a celebration of excellence.” This comes as the Olympic Games enters its final weekend in Rio. There have been a number of historic firsts for American athletes. For the first time ever, American women placed first, second and third in the 100-meter Olympic hurdles. The runners, Brianna Rollins, Nia Ali and Kristi Castlin, are all African-American. The American Olympic gymnastics team has also made history. The so-called Final Five women’s gymnastics team concluded their run in Rio with a historic nine medals. They are most diverse gymnastics team ever to represent the United States. Simone Biles and Gabby Douglas are African-American. New Jersey-born Lauren Hernandez is of Puerto Rican descent. Madison Kocian and Aly Raisman are white. We’ll have more on the Olympics later in the broadcast with Dave Zirin.

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