Updated on August 22 at 5:11 p.m. EST
NEWS BRIEF Ryan Lochte, the Olympic gold-medal-winning swimmer, has lost four major commercial sponsorships over his account of being robbed at the Rio Olympic Games.
The announcements began Monday morning:
The official response regarding our sponsorship of Ryan Lochte. pic.twitter.com/0DdP2RyceD
— Speedo USA (@SpeedoUSA) August 22, 2016
Hours later, Ralph Lauren said it won’t renew its contract with Lochte, which ran through the games.
now Ralph Lauren says they won't renew Lochte's contract pic.twitter.com/01dXGdvQmN
— Katie Peralta (@katieperalta) August 22, 2016
Syneron-Candela, which develops aesthetic medical products, also ended Lochte’s deal with its company Gentle Hair Removal. “We hold our employees to high standards, and we expect the same of our business partners,” Syneron-Candela said in a statement.
Airweave, a Japanese mattress company and the “official mattress supplier to Team USA,” followed Monday afternoon, announcing in a tweet it had decided to part ways with Lochte “after careful consideration.”
The companies cut ties with the swimmer after this account of the robbery, which was at odds with video footage, enraged Brazilians, embarrassed the U.S. Olympic Committee, and unleashed massive criticism of the champion swimmer.