Rio Games organisers on Thursday (August 18) defended four U.S. Olympic swimmers whose accounts of an armed robbery at the weekend are under question by Brazilian police, saying they were just kids who were having fun and made a mistake.
"These kids tried to have fun, they tried to represent their country to the best of their abilities," Rio 2016 spokesman Mario Andrada told reporters without elaborating.
"They competed under gigantic pressure. Let's give these kids a break. Sometime you take actions that you later regret. They had fun, they made a mistake, life goes on."
Brazilian police stopped two U.S. Olympic swimmers from boarding a flight home on Wednesday (August 17) to question them about how they and two team mates were robbed at gunpoint in Rio de Janeiro at the weekend, after a judge raised doubts over their accounts
A third swimmer, James Feigen, is in contact with Brazilian authorities and plans to make further statements to them on Thursday, said a spokesman for the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC).
Federal police also want to question U.S. gold medalist swimmer Ryan Lochte, one of swimming's most decorated Olympians, but he had already flown home to the United States on Monday, a police spokesman said.
The four swimmers have said they were robbed by gunmen while returning to the Athletes' Village in a taxi in the early hours of Sunday (August 14) after a party - an incident that stoked fears for the safety of athletes and visitors at South America's first Games.
The Rio Olympics have been dogged by a series of security scares, including the robbery of two visiting government ministers, a mugger being shot dead outside the opening ceremony and stray bullets being fired into the equestrian centre.
"Are we happy? Of course not because one incident like this is too many but we understand that the security authorities deliver a solid job in terms of changing the landscape and I also understand that we still have a couple of days to go so we better keep focusing and try to do even a better job to make sure that we can finish the Games with no further incidents," Andrada said.
On Wednesday, The Guardian newspaper reported that a British team member had been held up at gunpoint while enjoying a night out in Rio in the early hours of Tuesday (August 16). The person was not seriously hurt, the newspaper added.
According to The Guardian, British track and field officials have advised their athletes that if they leave the Olympic Village after dark they do so at their own risk.
IOC Director of Communications, Mark Adams said his body would not impose such a ban on athletes, adding that stopping people to leave the village was "a bit crazy".
"On travelling outside (the Olympic Village) that really is with the advice of the local authorities; that really is a matter for the national Olympic committees to advise their teams and for the Chef de Missions to advise their teams," Adams said. "I think it wouldn't be for me to make a blanket ban and say, you know, me coming from London that no one here should travel. It's a decision for each national Olympic committee talking to the local authorities to decide. But stopping people leaving the village, I think it would be a bit crazy."
Meanwhile, Brazilian police arrested Europe's top Olympic official in a dawn raid of his Rio beachfront hotel on Wednesday (August 17), in connection with an investigation into ticket scalping at the Olympics.
The police said they had discovered evidence linking 71-year-old Irishman Pat Hickey to an international scheme to illegally pass Olympic tickets to touts who were reselling them at well above their original price.
Police said they had also issued arrest warrants for three executives of Dublin-based PRO10 Sports Management. They are recommending charges against Hickey and the executives for illegal ticket resale, criminal association and fraudulent marketing. Prosecutors had yet to decide on any charges.
Police allege PRO10 funnelled tickets to another company, THG Sports, whose director was arrested this week in Brazil. PRO10 and THG have denied wrongdoing. Hickey has not responded to calls for comment.
Hickey was detained at the hotel Windsor Marapendi, near the Olympic Park. After he complained of chest pain, he was taken to nearby Samaritano hospital so his condition could be assessed.
Hickey will remain in hospital for at least 24 hours, the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) said.