Ryan Lochte dropped by sponsors over fake robbery claim

Speedo USA and other brands have dropped its sponsorship of Olympic swimming Ryan Lochte after he admitted exaggerating a story about being robbed at gunpoint in Rio.

The swimwear brand released a statement on Twitter saying they will donate a $50,000 portion of Lochte's fee to Save The Children for children in Brazil.

The statement said: "We cannot condone behaviour that is counter to the values this brand has long stood for. We appreciate his many achievements and hope he moves forward and learns from this experience."

Speedo is the first major company to drop its sponsorship over the fake robbery claim.

Mattress company Airweave USA, who sponsored the swimmer for Rio 2016, said: "After careful consideration, we have made the decision to end our partnership with Ryan Lochte."

Ralph Lauren, which has removed some of Lochte's images from its website, said its sponsorship had been only for the Rio Olympics and would not be renewed.

Hair removal company Syneron Candela, has also cancelled its sponsorship of the swimmer.

Lochte, 32, accepted he had built up parts of the story, but insisted he didn't lie.

His apology last week for the way he handled claims about the robbery sparked outrage across Brazil.

The US Olympic Committee apologised and branded the behaviour of Lochte and his fellow swimmers involved in the incident as "unacceptable".