A burly former Olympian has posted a terrifying image of child bandits armed with guns who robbed him in Rio.
Russian swimmer Evgeny Korotyshkin uploaded a picture to Instagram on Thursday that showed two young boys - one armed with a semi automatic weapon and a smile barely visible under a pulled down cap, the other, with a pistol in a holster, his face disguised by a t-shirt wrapped around his head.
In a caption under the photograph Korotyshkin wrote that he was robbed by the boys near Ipanema Beach.
He said the group “parted amicably” after he emptied his pockets in “exchange for (an) exciting story”.
Korotyshkin added that concerned pals should not worry as “all is well with me”.
The athlete, who won the silver medal in the 100m butterfly during London 2012, lamented that his robbers did not have “more interesting things” to play with - than guns - and that they had been taught to steal.
The retired athlete is in Rio to support Team Russia.
Since the Games begun, there have been widespread reports of violence in the city including an attack on the Olympic security chief.
A policeman with Seixas shot one of the assailants dead and the others fled.
Rio mayor Eduardo Paes boasted before the games the city would be the “safest place in the world” during the Games with 88,000 security personnel in total protecting 500,000 fans expected over 17 days.