Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte recently came under the media spotlight when he claimed to have been mugged during the Rio Olympics - which turned out to be untrue after investigations by Rio authorities.

Though this mistake has cost the 32-year-old his sponsors and tainted his reputation, it was not the first time he made the news for the wrong reasons. Here are some examples in the past.

1. A flop as a reality TV star

After Lochte's newfound fame in the 2012 London Olympics where he took home five gold medals, he starred in a reality TV show called "What Would Ryan Lochte Do?".

It gave an inside look into Lochte's adventures, which according to New York Magazine included playing golf drunk and going on blind dates with Hollywood actresses.

The show was a flop. It did not continue after the first season because by the time the finale rolled around, the number of viewers decreased by more than half.

2. In trouble with the police

In 2010, Lochte was fined for disorderly conduct in Florida.

He was involved in a fight and according to police reports obtained by RadarOnline.com, was waving his arms attempting to hit people.

The swimmer was also caught urinating in public in 2005 and sentenced to 22 hours of community service, according to ABC News.

3. The unoriginal catchphrase

Lochte is known for using the catchphrase "jeah!", which he has explained more or less means "good". The word was mostly associated with the famous athlete, although the Huffington Post reported he credited the sound of the word to the rapper Yung Jeezy who used the word Chea in his videos.

In 2012, the swimmer applied to patent the catchphrase in order to use it for merchandise such as sunglasses, T-shirts and jewellery.

However, he received a complaint from rapper MC Eiht who said he has been using the word since 1988. Lochte eventually dropped the application.

4. Grilled over grills

In the 2012 Olympics, the swimmer attempted to wear a US$25,000 (S$34, 000) diamond encrusted, American flag grill - a jewel encrusted retainer-like accessory - to the podium to accept one of his gold medals.

However, he was not allowed to do so because it was not a part of the Team USA uniform, though he had worn grills to other meets before.

Some accused him of cultural appropriation, as the grill was popular among black rappers more than 10 years ago, according to The New York Times.

In 2008, he designed a bright green, rhinestone-studded sneaker with Speedo, which had his name emblazoned on the bottom. Although some praised him for his bold creation, others panned the shoes as ugly.

5. Peeing in Olympic pool

In an interview with television and radio host Ryan Seacrest, the swimmer admitted to peeing in the pool at the 2012 London Olympics.

He said to Seacrest: "Not during the races, but I sure did before in warm-up."

Sources: International Business Times, BBC, RadarOnline, New York Magazine, TMZ, The Huffington Post, The New York Times, ABC News