Nicole Auerbach and Rachel Axon

USA TODAY Sports

RIO DE JANEIRO — Ryan Lochte and three other U.S. swimmers were held up at gunpoint early Sunday morning.

Lochte described the incident to NBC on Sunday afternoon.

"We got pulled over, in the taxi, and these guys came out with a badge, a police badge, no lights, no nothing just a police badge and they pulled us over," Lochte said. "They pulled out their guns, they told the other swimmers to get down on the ground — they got down on the ground. I refused, I was like we didn't do anything wrong, so — I'm not getting down on the ground.

"And then the guy pulled out his gun, he cocked it, put it to my forehead and he said, 'Get down,' and I put my hands up, I was like 'whatever.' He took our money, he took my wallet — he left my cell phone, he left my credentials."

His mother Ileana Lochte confirmed the robbery to USA TODAY Sports on Sunday morning.

“I think they’re all shaken up. There were a few of them,” Ileana Lochte said. “No, they were just, they just took their wallets and basically that was it.”

Patrick Sandusky, spokesman for the U.S. Olympic Committee, released a statement with details of the incident, although an International Olympic Committee spokesman initially called reports of the incident "absolutely not true."

“According to four members of the U.S. Olympic Swimming Team (Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger, Jimmy Feigen and Ryan Lochte), they left France House early Sunday morning in a taxi headed for the Olympic Village," Sandusky said in a statement released Sunday afternoon. "Their taxi was stopped by individuals posing as armed police officers who demanded the athletes’ money and other personal belongings. All four athletes are safe and cooperating with authorities.”

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Civil Police in Rio released a statement that said it was investigating a robbery of U.S. swimmers.

At a news conference later Sunday, American swimmers said they’ve felt safe throughout their stay in Rio so far.

“Every time I travel internationally obviously we always make sure things are very secure, no matter where I’m going,” said Michael Phelps, 28-time Olympic medalist and one of the most high-profile athletes here. “I have a team personally who are always looking out for everything. USOC and USA Swimming are always making sure we’re as protected as we can be.

“I’ve been to Brazil multiple times. I’ve felt very safe every time I’ve been here.”

Olympic gold medalist Nathan Adrian said the robbery will not affect the way he approaches safety or his post-competition time here.

“Rio is an amazing city,” Adrian said. “There are going to be problems anywhere you go. We have been briefed about how to mitigate those risks as well as possible. The thing is, we just came off an amazing performance and I think all of us are ready to enjoy that a little bit after a long time of working really hard."

Lochte, a 12-time Olympic medalist, won one gold medal here in Rio as part of the 4x200 freestyle relay. He has been done competing in the Games since Thursday, and the Olympic swimming competition ended Saturday night.

As news spread of the incident early Sunday, athletes expressed relief that their teammates are safe. "As a team we do stay together and always watch out for one another," Phelps said.

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