As the Olympics are coming to a close, we think back to the highlights of the last two weeks. Besides the record-breaking races and gold metals raised high, there were definite lessons to be learned this time around. That lesson is to always tell the truth.

Ryan Lochte is a well-known American swimmer who has won many Olympic medals over the past few games including the most recent 2016 Rio Olympic games. Many people also know him as the person who said he was robbed at gunpoint while at a gas station in Rio, a story in which he actually lied. Lochte admitted that he had “over-exaggerated" the details of the “robbery.”

So what actually happened? What is Lochte trying to hide?

"I was coming from the France house, I was highly intoxicated, and I made immature accusations. If I had not done that, none of this would have happened."

The Olympian Lochte fabricated a lie to cover up the fact that he was drunk and stupid at a gas station. He said that he is sorry for his actions and was forced to donate $11,000 to a Brazilian charity organization.

What do these actions mean for Ryan Lochte’s career?

Now that everyone in the world knows that the second best swimmer of all time is a liar, all of his endorsements are likely to drop. He will probably get some sort of punishment from the Olympic Committee. Lochte is lucky that the Brazilian government is not going to press charges against them. This will definitely be a very low point of his career if not the end.

What’s the lesson to be learned here?

It is always better to tell the truth than to get tangled in a lie. Regardless of how large the problem is, telling a lie will only make the situation worse. Telling the truth however, gives you the power on how you want to control the situation. Now that Lochte is caught up in his false robbery lie, he is completely discredited as a person. People now know him as the “Lying Olympic Swimmer.” If Lochte had told the truth, he could have handled the situation better.

Lying provides people with false information. This false information can lead to more and more problems that may not have been necessary in the first place. If Lochte told the truth about the gas station incident, he would be more likely that this would not have blown up to this big of a news story.

Telling the truth also helps clear your conscience. With a clear conscience, weight is lifted off your shoulders and your anxiety will melt away. Lying comes with stress and anxiety trying to keep up the your lies. Telling the truth will always set your free. If only Ryan Lochte did the same. Hopefully he learned his lesson this time and sets the lesson for others to follow.