US swimmers Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger stopped at Rio airport


The Brazilian authorities have stopped US swimmers Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger from boarding a flight at Rio de Janeiro airport, the US Olympic Committee has confirmed. 

The two men were taken off a plane, bound for the US, for questioning late on Wednesday and released hours later.

Two teammates - Ryan Lochte and James Feigen - were barred from leaving the country, but Lochte had already left.

Police have queried their accounts of a robbery they reported in Rio on Sunday.

The four swimmers said they had been robbed at gunpoint in a taxi in Rio.

But police say their account of when they arrived at the Olympic village does not square with CCTV recordings.



A statement from the US Olympic team said that Bentz and Conger "were released by local authorities with the understanding that they would continue their discussions about the incident on Thursday".

"James Feigen is also communicating with local authorities and intends to make further statements regarding the incident on Thursday as well," said TeamUSA.

Lochte's lawyer told the BBC he got back to the US two days ago.

"He arrived back before the judge issued anything," said Jeffrey Ostrow.
"He was never asked to remain for further investigation or for any other purpose after he met with Brazilian authorities after he gave a statement."

Lochte is one of the most successful swimmers in history, with 12 Olympic medals, and he once had his own reality television show in the US.
In Rio, he swam in two events, winning gold in the 4x200m freestyle relay.

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