The US Olympic Committee confirmed that Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger were taken off an aircraft, headed to America, on Wednesday (August 17) for questioning by police as part of a robbery investigation.
The athletes, along with their teammates, Ryan Lochte and James Feigen, said they had been robbed at gunpoint in a taxi in Rio on Sunday morning.
Police have since queried their accounts of the incident – with Lochte and Feigen barred from leaving Brazil, although Lochte has since left the country, BBC News reports.
Authorities believe the swimmer’s account of the incident does not match up with CCTV recordings.
A statement from the US Olympic team said that Bentz and Conger were “released by local authorities with the understanding that they would continue their discussions about the incident on Thursday".
"James Feigen is also communicating with local authorities and intends to make further statements regarding the incident on Thursday as well," said TeamUSA.
Accounts of the incident have been disputed by the athletes and Rio police officials.
Lochte told police that the taxi himself, Feigen, Bentz and Conger had been riding in on the way back from a party held by the French Olympic team was stopped by men posing as police officers.
During the incident, a man was said to have held a gun to Lochte’s head and robbed him of his money and belongings, BBC News reports.
But police investigating the case say they have found no evidence of the robbery and have pointed out "inconsistencies" in the swimmers’ story.
Lochte and Feigen previously told police the group had returned to the Olympic village at 04.00 local time (08.00 GMT).
But CCTV recordings appear to show the Olympians returning at 07.00 local time.
Police have also said that Feigen and Lochte have given varying accounts of how many men robbed them.
The US Olympic Committee has confirmed the swimmers’ accounts.
