An appeals court has thrown out the criminal charge filed against Lochte for allegedly lying to authorities when he told them he was robbed at gunpoint. Lochte was charged with false communication of a crime.

The judges ruled Lochte did not go to cops and report the incident ... they came to him after hearing stories in the media. So he never set out to create a lie, and that was the turning point in the case.

As you know, Lochte told NBC he and 3 other members of the U.S. swim team were stopped by men he thought were impersonating police officers. Surveillance video later showed the real story was Lochte and co. were stopped by owners of the gas station they'd vandalized.