Gunnar Bentz

Joseph Bentz
Personal information
Nickname(s) Gunnar
National team  United States
Born (1996-01-03) January 3, 1996
Atlanta, Georgia
Height 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Weight 83 kg (183 lb)
Sport
Sport Swimming
Strokes individual medley, freestyle
Club Dynamo Swim Club
College team University of Georgia

Joseph "Gunnar" Bentz (born January 3, 1996) is an American competition swimmer and Olympic gold medalist.

Career

He is a four-time medalist (two gold, two bronze) at the FINA World Junior Swimming Championships and a two-time medalist (one silver, one bronze) at the Pan American Games. Bentz competes for the University of Georgia with the Georgia Bulldogs swimming and diving team in American collegiate swimming. Bentz was the 2015 USA National Champion in the 400m Individual Medley. In June 2016, he qualified for the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Bentz swam in the preliminaries of the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Replaced by the team of Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte, Conor Dwyer, and Townley Haas, Bentz was not in the final but received a medal.

Gas station incident during 2016 Olympics

Main article: Lochtegate

On the morning of August 14, Bentz's teammate Ryan Lochte claimed that he, Bentz, Jack Conger, and Jimmy Feigen were robbed after four men forced them out of their taxi at gunpoint.[1] Bentz, 20 at the time of this incident, was required to be back in the Olympic Village by 1:00am as the 1:00am curfew was relaxed just for team members 21 or older by Frank Busch, U.S.A. Swimming’s national team director.[2] The Brazilian authorities questioned this account, and after Lochte had flown home on August 16, Bentz and Conger were prevented from leaving the country and their passports were seized; this was done in order to have them testify as witnesses of the incident.[3][4] Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro concluded that the athletes were not robbed, but instead had been involved in an incident at a gas station in Barra da Tijuca, west of the city.[5] This investigation found that the swimmers stopped at a gas station near Casa França, where they were involved in a confrontation with security guards regarding vandalism some or all of the swimmers had caused in a bathroom while intoxicated.[6][7][8][9] They also claimed that the swimmers had already paid in cash 100 reais ($31) and $20 in U.S. currency as compensation for objects from the bathroom which were damaged, such as a soap holder, a mirror, and a "Please Do Not Enter" sign.[10]

According to anonymous police sources, Bentz and Conger told the police that Lochte's robbery story was fabricated.[11] The Associated Press reported that Bentz and Conger "refuted Lochte’s claim that the group was held up by armed assailants."[12]

After Bentz returned to the United States, he released a statement about the incident. He admitted to urinating behind the gas station, and wrote that Lochte pulled down a framed metal advertisement.[13]

Career best times

Long course (50-meter pool)

Event Time Venue Date
200 m freestyle 1:47.33 Omaha June 28, 2016
200 m Butterfly 1:56.46 Omaha June 29, 2016
200 m IM 1:59.19 Irvine August 6, 2014
400 m IM 4:13.67 Omaha June 26, 2016

Early life

Bentz graduated from St. Pius X Catholic High School in 2014.[14]

References

  1. ↑ Ruiz, Rebecca R.; Mather, Victor (August 14, 2016). "Ryan Lochte and Three Teammates Robbed at Gunpoint". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  2. ↑ Crouse, Karen (August 19, 2016). "Gleam Tarnished, Far From the Pool, for U.S. Swimmers". The New York Times. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  3. ↑ "U.S. swimmers Bentz, Conger leave Rio after robbery scandal; Feigen pays fine". NBC Olympics. August 19, 2016. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Two US swimmers in Rio removed from flight home". CNN. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  5. ↑ Romero, Sam (August 18, 2016). "The Police Say Ryan Lochte Lied About Gunpoint Assault". The New York Times. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  6. ↑ Moreira, Gabriela (August 18, 2016). "Polícia conclui que nadadores norte-americanos mentiram sobre assalto". ESPN (in Portuguese). Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Vídeo de posto de gasolina mostra confusão com nadadores americanos". G1 (in Portuguese). August 18, 2016. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Polícia diz que houve 'confusão' e não assalto envolvendo nadadores". G1 (in Portuguese). August 18, 2016. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  9. ↑ Levine, Sam (August 18, 2016). "Brazilian Sources Say Swimmers Fabricated Rio Robbery Story: Report". The Huffington Post. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  10. ↑ Rodrigo Viga; Jeb Blout (August 19, 2016). "U.S. says sorry as swimmers leave Brazil to jeers". Reuters. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
  11. ↑ Dave Sheinin, Dom Phillips & Joshua Partlow (August 18, 2016). "As Ryan Lochte's story unravels, three teammates remain detained for questioning". Washington Post.
  12. ↑ http://news.nationalpost.com/sports/rio-2016/ryan-was-very-evasive-how-lochtes-robbery-story-started-to-unravel
  13. ↑ Reilly, Katie (August 20, 2016). "Swimmer Gunnar Bentz Tells His Story of Rio Gas Station Incident in Statement". TIME). Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  14. ↑ "St. Pius X alum on 2016 U.S. Olympic swim team". Retrieved August 12, 2016.
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