Olympic champion Schooling apologizes to Malaysians

KUALA LUMPUR -- Singapore's Olympic champion Joseph Schooling has apologized to Malaysians for saying he was going to teach their swimmers a lesson at the Southeast Asian Games, which open on Saturday in Kuala Lumpur.

The 22-year-old, who won the city-state's first Olympic gold in the 100 metres butterfly in Rio last year, had told local media it would be "nice to go to Malaysia's backyard and teach them a thing or two".

"If I offended anyone, I do apologise... that wasn't my intention," Schooling said on his arrival in the Malaysian capital on Saturday.

"I'm really sorry for my comments and I definitely didn't mean it that way."

Schooling won nine gold medals at the last SEA Games in Singapore two years ago but will race in fewer events this year.

"I'll do my best in all of them. I'm just going to do my best and let the outcome speak for itself. We have two days to prepare so hopefully we'll put on a good performance in the Games," he added.

"It's definitely not like training for me. Every race my dad likes to say race fast and that actually holds a lot of ground. There are a lot of great swimmers in the South East Asian region so I gotta be the best as I can to make my country proud."

The 29th version of the biennial SEA Games continue until Aug. 30.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Lochte sorry for behavior in Rio

RIO DE JANEIRO - U.S. gold medalist swimmer Ryan Lochte on Friday apologized for his behavior at the Olympics after being accused by Brazilian police of inventing a story about an armed robbery to cover for bad behavior at a gas station.

"I should have been much more responsible in how I handled myself, and for that am sorry to my team mates," he said on Instagram.

Lochte, together with fellow U.S. swimmers Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and Jimmy Feigen, are accused of having fabricated a story about being robbed by gunmen posing as policemen.

Surveillance footage and an investigation by Brazilian authorities showed that they had vandalized a gas station bathroom and had handed over money to armed security guards who had prevented them from leaving.

In his apology, Lochte, 32, described the night as "traumatic".

"It's traumatic to be out late with your friends in a foreign country - with a language barrier - and have a stranger point a gun at you and demand money to let you leave," he said.

"But regardless of the behavior of anyone else that night, I should have been much more responsible in how I handled myself and for that am sorry to my team mates, my fans, my fellow competitors, my sponsors, and the hosts of this great event."

Lochte, Bentz and Conger have returned to the United States, while Feigen was still in Brazil on Friday morning. Feigen had agreed to pay $11,000 to a Brazilian charity, police said. His passport would be released upon providing a receipt.

It was unclear what, if any, agreement Lochte had made with Brazilian authorities. After arriving in North Carolina on Tuesday, the swimmer has not been seen, apart from giving an interview with Matt Lauer on the "Today Show", which is yet to be aired.

He ended his apology posted Thursday by saying: "There has already been too much said and too many valuable resources dedicated to what happened last weekend, so I hope we spend our time celebrating the great stories and performances of these Games and look ahead to celebrating future successes."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com