King said she never considered congratulating Efimova.
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King’s win came moments after Ryan Murphy’s gold-medal win in the backstroke at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium in Rio’s Barra da Tijuca district.
King believed Efimova should have not been able to compete at all, but with no other option, she resolved to defeat the cheating swimmer.
King’s time of 1:04.93 set an Olympic record, as she gave the US its first gold medal in 16 years in women’s breaststroke. King also gave a version of the gesture after winning her own semi-final.
“I wish somebody would do something about it”, she said.
After giving Efimova a finger wag as she watched her Russian counterpart celebrate her heat victory, King became an overnight sensation as a precocious young swimmer eager to take a stand against doping in her sport. “Cheaters are cheaters”, she said.
“I’m proud to be competing clean and doing what is right”, King said after the race. “I felt that I needed to perform even better tonight than I have in the past”.
And then she backed it up with a swim for the gold. He also continued a streak of USA dominance in the backstroke, which Americans have won in the past six summer Olympics.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted the Swimming Australia and the Australian Olympic Committee for comment.
The Olympic gold medal caps a dominant year for King in the 100m breast.
The Russian served a 16-month suspension from late 2013 to February 2015 and also failed a test for meldonium earlier this year, although the result was later overturned.
King didn’t think that was right.
Things really got heated when Efimova won her qualifying heat for the finals.
The real joy of the whole encounter was watching Phelps stay poised looking like Marshall Mathers in 8 Mile until suddenly his vicious game face made an appearance.
Fair play to Lily King for speaking, and acting, so honestly..
“I’ve had a lot of support for the most part. It kind of breaks what sport is meant to be and that’s what p****s me off”, he added.
King didn’t acknowledge Efimova during a raucous victory celebration. Her teammate Katie Meili won third at 1:05.69.
That didn’t sit well with King, who doesn’t compromise on the issue. The US victor was backed up by her teammate, swimming legend Michael Phelps.
“That’s just my personality”, she said. “It should be set in stone”. Le Clos shadowboxed in front of Phelps for a while and then paced back and forth a little while shaking his body around.
Simple words, spoken from the heart. He has spoken out in support of clean athletes.
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And that’s something to wag a finger about.
