US Swimmers robbed at gunpoint in Rio

[Adam White]

Speedo terminates sponsorship with Ryan Lochte

Swimsuit and apparel manufacturer Speedo, the leading brand in the industry in America, has terminated its sponsorship of Ryan Lochte.

Speedo sent out a statement Monday morning announcing that it has parted ways with Lochte. The one-paragraph statement, in its entirety:

"Speedo USA today announces the decision to end its sponsorship of Ryan Lochte. As part of this decision, Speedo USA will donate a $50,000 portion of Lochte's fee to Save The Children, a global charity partner of Speedo USA's parent company, for children in Brazil. While we have enjoyed a winning relationship with Ryan for over a decade and he has been an important member of the Speedo team, we cannot condone behavior that is counter to the values this brand has long stood for. We appreciate his many achievements and hope he moves forward and learns from this experience"



Losing Speedo as a sponsor is a significant blow for Ryan Lochte. (AP)

This is the first known business repercussion for Lochte after his involvement in the widely publicized incident in Rio de Janeiro the night after the swimming portion of the Olympic Games ended.

Lochte claimed he was robbed by a fake policeman who held a gun to his head, sparking an international firestorm, but later admitted to an "over-exaggeration" of events that occurred in the company of fellow American swimmers Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and Jimmy Feigen. Lochte and Feigen were charged with filing a false report with police; Bentz and Conger were detained for 24 hours as witnesses; and the U.S. Olympic Committee ultimately issued an apology for the affair, which overshadowed much of the second week of the Olympics.

Losing Speedo as a sponsor is a significant blow for Lochte. Swimming apparel manufacturers are a major element of the sponsorship money available to professional swimmers, who can otherwise struggle to find enough endorsement revenue to make swimming a full-time job.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/news/speedo-terminates-sponsorship-with-ryan-lochte-161903695.html

In other words, if he wants to compete in another Olympics (like he said last week), he will have to find his own way.

I am guessing he will take the Speedo announcement as some kind of personal dare and will still want to try to compete in 4 years.

Not impossible, but he will need a benefactor to help cover his training expenses. I wonder how mom feels about that now?

Phelps fell down after one of his Olympics and lost endorsements and still came back, so its certainly possible for Lochte.

He's too old. He's 32 now. No way a 36 year old is qualifying for the next Olympics.

[Gunnar]

This may also be important for how he will earn his living in the post competition phase. Endorsements could have continued even if he no longer competed.

[finehoe]

Ryan Lochte loses all four commercial sponsors after Rio Olympics incident

U.S. swimmer Ryan Lochte's four commercial sponsors dropped the 12-time Olympic medal winner Monday in response to the incident eight days ago in which he falsely claimed he and three teammates had been held up by armed robbers at a Rio de Janeiro gas station.

The decisions by Speedo, Ralph Lauren, Airweave and Gentle Hair Removal came after Lochte admitted to "over-exaggerating" the armed-robbery claim, an assertion that overshadowed much of the second week of the Summer Olympics that concluded Sunday.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2016/08/22/speedo-drops-ryan-lochte-after-rio-olympics-incident/

[spuwho]

Speedo terminates sponsorship with Ryan Lochte

Swimsuit and apparel manufacturer Speedo, the leading brand in the industry in America, has terminated its sponsorship of Ryan Lochte.

Speedo sent out a statement Monday morning announcing that it has parted ways with Lochte. The one-paragraph statement, in its entirety:

"Speedo USA today announces the decision to end its sponsorship of Ryan Lochte. As part of this decision, Speedo USA will donate a $50,000 portion of Lochte's fee to Save The Children, a global charity partner of Speedo USA's parent company, for children in Brazil. While we have enjoyed a winning relationship with Ryan for over a decade and he has been an important member of the Speedo team, we cannot condone behavior that is counter to the values this brand has long stood for. We appreciate his many achievements and hope he moves forward and learns from this experience"



Losing Speedo as a sponsor is a significant blow for Ryan Lochte. (AP)

This is the first known business repercussion for Lochte after his involvement in the widely publicized incident in Rio de Janeiro the night after the swimming portion of the Olympic Games ended.

Lochte claimed he was robbed by a fake policeman who held a gun to his head, sparking an international firestorm, but later admitted to an "over-exaggeration" of events that occurred in the company of fellow American swimmers Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and Jimmy Feigen. Lochte and Feigen were charged with filing a false report with police; Bentz and Conger were detained for 24 hours as witnesses; and the U.S. Olympic Committee ultimately issued an apology for the affair, which overshadowed much of the second week of the Olympics.

Losing Speedo as a sponsor is a significant blow for Lochte. Swimming apparel manufacturers are a major element of the sponsorship money available to professional swimmers, who can otherwise struggle to find enough endorsement revenue to make swimming a full-time job.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/news/speedo-terminates-sponsorship-with-ryan-lochte-161903695.html

In other words, if he wants to compete in another Olympics (like he said last week), he will have to find his own way.

I am guessing he will take the Speedo announcement as some kind of personal dare and will still want to try to compete in 4 years.

Not impossible, but he will need a benefactor to help cover his training expenses. I wonder how mom feels about that now?

Phelps fell down after one of his Olympics and lost endorsements and still came back, so its certainly possible for Lochte.

He's too old. He's 32 now. No way a 36 year old is qualifying for the next Olympics.

Per Wikipedia:

At age 41, Spitz attempted a comeback for the 1992 Summer Olympics after film maker Bud Greenspan offered him a million dollars if he succeeded in qualifying. Filmed by Greenspan's cameras, Spitz did not beat the qualifying limit, despite his times being nearly as good as (and in some cases better than) his medal-winning times 20 years earlier. He was two seconds slower than the requisite qualifying time at the Olympic trials. Dara Torres made her successful Olympic comeback for the 2008 Summer Games, at the same age as Spitz.

On August 1, 2007, at age 40 and just 16 months after giving birth to her first child, Torres won the 100-meter freestyle at the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis. On August 4, she set a new American record in the 50-meter freestyle of 24.53 seconds, breaking her own record of 24.63 seconds set at the 2000 Summer Olympics. She lowered her initial American record by 1.62 seconds. Torres has broken or lowered her own American record in the 50-meter freestyle ten times, which is the most by any American swimmer in any event.

At the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials, Torres returned to the pool and qualified for a spot in her fifth Olympic Games at the age of 41, a first for an American female swimmer. She became the oldest U.S. Olympic swimmer in history and the first American swimmer to appear in five Olympic Games.

Then there is the famed discus thrower Al Oerter:

Oerter did make an attempt to qualify for the American team in 1980 but he finished fourth. He nonetheless set his overall personal record of 69.46 metres (227.9 ft) that year at the age of 43. When filming for a TV segment, he unofficially threw about 245 feet (75 m), which would have set a still-standing world record. In later years, Oerter carried the Olympic flag for the 1984 Summer Olympics, then carried Olympic flame into the stadium for the 1996 Olympic Games.

[Adam White]

Speedo terminates sponsorship with Ryan Lochte

Swimsuit and apparel manufacturer Speedo, the leading brand in the industry in America, has terminated its sponsorship of Ryan Lochte.

Speedo sent out a statement Monday morning announcing that it has parted ways with Lochte. The one-paragraph statement, in its entirety:

"Speedo USA today announces the decision to end its sponsorship of Ryan Lochte. As part of this decision, Speedo USA will donate a $50,000 portion of Lochte's fee to Save The Children, a global charity partner of Speedo USA's parent company, for children in Brazil. While we have enjoyed a winning relationship with Ryan for over a decade and he has been an important member of the Speedo team, we cannot condone behavior that is counter to the values this brand has long stood for. We appreciate his many achievements and hope he moves forward and learns from this experience"



Losing Speedo as a sponsor is a significant blow for Ryan Lochte. (AP)

This is the first known business repercussion for Lochte after his involvement in the widely publicized incident in Rio de Janeiro the night after the swimming portion of the Olympic Games ended.

Lochte claimed he was robbed by a fake policeman who held a gun to his head, sparking an international firestorm, but later admitted to an "over-exaggeration" of events that occurred in the company of fellow American swimmers Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and Jimmy Feigen. Lochte and Feigen were charged with filing a false report with police; Bentz and Conger were detained for 24 hours as witnesses; and the U.S. Olympic Committee ultimately issued an apology for the affair, which overshadowed much of the second week of the Olympics.

Losing Speedo as a sponsor is a significant blow for Lochte. Swimming apparel manufacturers are a major element of the sponsorship money available to professional swimmers, who can otherwise struggle to find enough endorsement revenue to make swimming a full-time job.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/news/speedo-terminates-sponsorship-with-ryan-lochte-161903695.html

In other words, if he wants to compete in another Olympics (like he said last week), he will have to find his own way.

I am guessing he will take the Speedo announcement as some kind of personal dare and will still want to try to compete in 4 years.

Not impossible, but he will need a benefactor to help cover his training expenses. I wonder how mom feels about that now?

Phelps fell down after one of his Olympics and lost endorsements and still came back, so its certainly possible for Lochte.

He's too old. He's 32 now. No way a 36 year old is qualifying for the next Olympics.

Per Wikipedia:

At age 41, Spitz attempted a comeback for the 1992 Summer Olympics after film maker Bud Greenspan offered him a million dollars if he succeeded in qualifying. Filmed by Greenspan's cameras, Spitz did not beat the qualifying limit, despite his times being nearly as good as (and in some cases better than) his medal-winning times 20 years earlier. He was two seconds slower than the requisite qualifying time at the Olympic trials. Dara Torres made her successful Olympic comeback for the 2008 Summer Games, at the same age as Spitz.

On August 1, 2007, at age 40 and just 16 months after giving birth to her first child, Torres won the 100-meter freestyle at the U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis. On August 4, she set a new American record in the 50-meter freestyle of 24.53 seconds, breaking her own record of 24.63 seconds set at the 2000 Summer Olympics. She lowered her initial American record by 1.62 seconds. Torres has broken or lowered her own American record in the 50-meter freestyle ten times, which is the most by any American swimmer in any event.

At the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials, Torres returned to the pool and qualified for a spot in her fifth Olympic Games at the age of 41, a first for an American female swimmer. She became the oldest U.S. Olympic swimmer in history and the first American swimmer to appear in five Olympic Games.

Then there is the famed discus thrower Al Oerter:

Oerter did make an attempt to qualify for the American team in 1980 but he finished fourth. He nonetheless set his overall personal record of 69.46 metres (227.9 ft) that year at the age of 43. When filming for a TV segment, he unofficially threw about 245 feet (75 m), which would have set a still-standing world record. In later years, Oerter carried the Olympic flag for the 1984 Summer Olympics, then carried Olympic flame into the stadium for the 1996 Olympic Games.

Okay, my bad.

Let's revisit this in four years and see how he got on.

It's worth noting that he only managed a medal as part of a relay. He didn't fare so well in individual events in this Olympics (in fact, I only think he qualified for one). No way will be be strong enough to qualify next Olympics.

[finehoe]

It's worth noting that he only managed a medal as part of a relay. He didn't fare so well in individual events in this Olympics (in fact, I only think he qualified for one). No way will be be strong enough to qualify next Olympics.

Be that as it may, he is the 2nd most decorated male swimmer in history (behind Mr. Phelps).

[finehoe]

Rio police's account of Ryan Lochte incident may not be entirely accurate either, report says

The extent of the property damage Ryan Lochte and three of his fellow U.S. Olympic swimmers caused to a gas station eight days ago might have been exaggerated by Rio de Janeiro police, according to a report by USA Today.

At a news conference Thursday, Fernando Veloso, the head of Rio de Janeiro's civil police, said the Americans had broken a soap dispenser and mirror inside the restroom. Other reports have said the four also broke a bathroom door.

But one of the U.S. swimmers, Gunnar Bentz, said in a statement Friday that he didn't see anyone vandalize the bathroom and the only damage caused by the group occurred when Lochte pulled a "loosely attached" advertising sign from a wall.

In examining all available surveillance footage from that night, including one aimed at the restroom doors, USA Today found no evidence the swimmers ever went near the bathroom, after relieving themselves behind the gas station.

A USA Today videographer visited the gas station and found no damage to the soap dispensers, mirrors or door, and none of those items appeared to be new.

The swimmers were eventually held at gunpoint by security guards at the station and were released after paying the equivalent of $50.

Fernando Deluz, a bilingual Brazilian who served as a translator between the swimmers and the security guards, told USA his understanding was the money paid was to cover vandalized property and that the only property that came up during the negotiations was the advertising sign Lochte had pulled down.

Deluz also said that because of the language barrier, the Americans might have believed they were being robbed.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/olympics/la-sp-oly-rio-2016-report-rio-police-s-account-of-ryan-1471884289-htmlstory.html

[Adam White]

It's worth noting that he only managed a medal as part of a relay. He didn't fare so well in individual events in this Olympics (in fact, I only think he qualified for one). No way will be be strong enough to qualify next Olympics.

Be that as it may, he is the 2nd most decorated male swimmer in history (behind Mr. Phelps).

Okay. But that has absolutely nothing to do with my point.

[spuwho]

Rio police's account of Ryan Lochte incident may not be entirely accurate either, report says

The extent of the property damage Ryan Lochte and three of his fellow U.S. Olympic swimmers caused to a gas station eight days ago might have been exaggerated by Rio de Janeiro police, according to a report by USA Today.

At a news conference Thursday, Fernando Veloso, the head of Rio de Janeiro's civil police, said the Americans had broken a soap dispenser and mirror inside the restroom. Other reports have said the four also broke a bathroom door.

But one of the U.S. swimmers, Gunnar Bentz, said in a statement Friday that he didn't see anyone vandalize the bathroom and the only damage caused by the group occurred when Lochte pulled a "loosely attached" advertising sign from a wall.

In examining all available surveillance footage from that night, including one aimed at the restroom doors, USA Today found no evidence the swimmers ever went near the bathroom, after relieving themselves behind the gas station.

A USA Today videographer visited the gas station and found no damage to the soap dispensers, mirrors or door, and none of those items appeared to be new.

The swimmers were eventually held at gunpoint by security guards at the station and were released after paying the equivalent of $50.

Fernando Deluz, a bilingual Brazilian who served as a translator between the swimmers and the security guards, told USA his understanding was the money paid was to cover vandalized property and that the only property that came up during the negotiations was the advertising sign Lochte had pulled down.

Deluz also said that because of the language barrier, the Americans might have believed they were being robbed.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/olympics/la-sp-oly-rio-2016-report-rio-police-s-account-of-ryan-1471884289-htmlstory.html

Bentz also reported that the security video given to the Brazilian press had been edited and was missing key parts when security confronted them.

Either way, the whole thing is a worn rug now.

[Keith-N-Jax]

I think its time to move on,

[finehoe]

Jeah!