Ryan Lochte is set to return to USA Swimming-sanctioned competition this week after the end of a 10-month ban for his bogus gunpoint robbery story at the Rio Olympics last year.
Lochte, whose 12 Olympic medals include six golds, was embroiled in scandal when he told the media that he and three teammates had been mugged after an all-night party.
The tale humiliated the Brazilian hosts of the Games and later Team USA after police determined he had largely fabricated his story.
He was ineligible to compete in the US trials for the upcoming world championships in Budapest, but is entered in three events in the Los Angeles Invitational meeting at the University of Southern California, where he is now training with the Trojan Swim Club.
Lochte could compete in Friday’s 100m freestyle, and in the 200m individual medley and 50m free at the weekend.
During his suspension, which ended June 30, Lochte got in a little racing in the US Masters Swimming National Championships, which is not a USA Swimming event.
The 32-year-old has said he plans to try to make the 2020 Olympic team. – Agence France-Presse
