“I’m going to go swim my heart out for the United States of America and hopefully that turns out the best”, King said.
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King set an Olympic record to win gold in the 100-meter breaststroke. But as good as King is in the water, it’s what she’s doing outside of it that’s cementing her legacy.
After the race, King twice threw shade at Yefimova, though she did so in a subdued way. But King was there to tell us how she really feels and to stand up for what she believes in.
“I’m in Russian Federation only one month a year, I don’t know what’s happening there and I don’t believe it”.
Check out these two side by side! “Although we think of strychnine today as a rat killer, in small doses it can have a stimulating affect and it was pretty commonly used”, he says.
They both look awesome on their TV appearances! “I’m just happy to be here and ready to race”.
“It’s surprising that supporters from certain countries, who have five or 10 dopers that had served bans for much more serious doping violations in their line-ups, do not boo their athletes”, he said.
“But on the other hand, I don’t understand, because it always used to be that all athletes were above politics”. Her her time of 2:25.89 was more than a second and a half slower than her seeded time (2:24.03), which she posted in the semifinals of the U.S. Olympic Trials in July.
After Wada found that the Russian government and the FSB security services had spent years covering up hundreds of doping cases across most Olympic sports and Paralympic events, 109 out of the 387 athletes initially in Russia’s team were banned.
The gold medalist in the 100-meter breaststroke on Monday, King qualified 15th overall to just make the top 16 cut for the semifinals.
“This performance by our team showed that we are really strong and that we can fight for the medals, even when others didn´t want us to do that”.
But King’s criticism wasn’t just reserved for her worldwide opponents.
“I’ve cried a lot of tears tonight”, she wrote.
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When asked if USA athletes who have fallen foul of the drug testers, such as sprinters Justin Gatlin and Tyson Gay, deserved to be in Rio, King, 19, pulled no punches. “I’m disgusted to see athletes who cheated on a podium”. “No I don’t”, she said. “There should be no bouncing back and forth”.
