Ryan Lochte is opening up about the strict rules Team USA swimmers have to follow in the Olympic Village.
On Tuesday, Aug. 6, his wife Kayla Lochte, 33, was answering some fan questions on TikTok, when one person asked why some athletes might be allowed to leave the Village during the Olympic Games and others might not.
“What do you mean you are not allowed to leave the Olympic Village? I see all kinds of Olympic athletes leaving the Village,” the TikTok user asked.
“Not USA swimmers,” Lochte, 40, replied off camera, as Kayla commented, “USA has stricter rules than other countries, right?”
“Yes,” Lochte confirmed, as Kayla questioned, “But you can leave for certain things?”
“Nope,” the former Olympian insisted, adding that if you have days off swimming and want to go eat lunch “with your family” for example, you have to get the “okay through the head coach.”
Lochte competed in the Team USA swimming team in four Olympic Games, his first being in Athens in 2004. He went on to attend the 2008 Games in Beijing, as well as the 2012 Games in London and the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro.
He’s earned six gold medals, three silver and three bronze through the years.
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USA Swimming previously suspended the swimmer for 10 months and he lost more than $1 million in sponsorships after it was revealed that he and some of his teammates lied about being robbed at gunpoint during the 2016 Rio Games. The claim was an exaggeration to cover up a confrontation with armed security guards over alleged vandalism.
A charge against him was ultimately dismissed and he has since repeatedly apologized for his behaviour.
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Lochte made a triumphant return to the pool in the run-up to the 2020 Tokyo Games, but ultimately failed to qualify to compete in Japan.
His comments about the Olympic Village rules come after Brazilian swimmer Ana Carolina Vieira made headlines last week after being sent home for leaving the Village “without authorization.”
Her teammate Gabriel Santos was also with her, but a Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB) spokesperson told PEOPLE that she was sent home due to the fact she “aggressively and disrespectfully challenged the Technical Committee’s lineup for the qualifiers for the women’s 4x100m relay,” as well as leaving the Village.
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Santos was “punished with a warning,” a news release shared by the COB on July 28 confirmed, while Vieira was sent home to Brazil.
“COB received a statement this Saturday, the 27th, from the Head of the Brazilian Swimming Team, Gustavo Otsuka, informing that swimmers Ana Carolina Vieira and Gabriel Santos committed acts of indiscipline,” the release read.
“With this, in agreement with the members of the Technical Committee of the sport, with the Head of the Team and with the Brazilian Confederation of Aquatic Sports (CBDA), the COB decided to punish the two athletes for having left the Olympic Village without authorization during the night of last Friday,” the release added.
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