US swimmers made a mistake, says Rio 2016 spokesman

Rio Games organisers on Thursday defended four US 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.

(Reuters)

"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 said, 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."