Lochte takes full responsibility for alleged robbery episode

Washington (dpa) - US swimmer Ryan Lochte has taken "full responsibility" for the incident in Rio de Janeiro that landed him and three other American swimmers in trouble with authorities.Speaking in a TV interview with US broadcaster NBC, the 12-time Olympic medallist also admitted that what he had initially told Brazilian authorities - that he and fellow teammates Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and James Feigen had been robbed at gunpoint at a Rio gas station - was an over-exaggeration."I over-exaggerated that story, and if I‘d never done that, we wouldn‘t be in this mess," Lochte said.In a statement on Friday, Lochte‘s teammate Gunnar Bentz said the group were in a taxi in the early hours of last Sunday when they pulled over to use the toilets at a petrol station."There was no restroom inside, so we foolishly relieved ourselves on the backside of the building behind some bushes," he said."I am unsure why, but while we were in that area, Ryan pulled to the ground a framed metal advertisement that was loosely anchored to the brick wall," he continued.Two security guards then demanded the swimmers get out of their taxi and pulled their guns on them, he said.Lochte, who appeared in the TV interview in a dress shirt and with his Rio silver-dyed hair now back to its normal colour, seemed remorseful.When asked whether he had struck a deal to make sure the story didn‘t become a bigger incident, Lochte answered: "We just wanted to get out of there.""There was a gun pointed in our direction, we were all frightened."