Ryan Lochte banned from swimming for 10 months following his lies over armed robbery

DISGRACED swimmer Ryan Lochte has been hit with a ten-month ban for lying about being robbed at gunpoint during the Rio Games last month.

Both the USA Olympic Committee and USA Swimming have imposed the suspension on the shamed American athlete, reports TMZ Sports.

Lochte, 32, claimed a gunman demanded he hand over money in order to leave a petrol station.

Brazilian police later said the 12-time Olympic medallist and three other swimmers had vandalised a bathroom at the station and were confronted by armed security guards.

Lochte was slammed – particularly in the States – for his fabricated tale.

Locals in Brazil were also infuriated by his version of events, saying it cast an unearned and negative shadow over their hosting of the Olympics.

Last month, the US Olympic team apologised to Rio officials and citizens for Lochte's scandalous actions.

A statement read: "We apologize to our hosts in Rio and the people of Brazil for this distracting ordeal in the midst of what should rightly be a celebration of excellence."

Lochte later choked back the tears as he admitted he was DRUNK when he lied about the robbery.

Since then he has been ditched by ALL of his endorsement deals including Ralph Lauren and Speedo.

Lochte will now reportedly miss the 2017 world championships as part of the suspension.