But King, a fearless young woman from Indiana University showed more guts than the International Olympic Committe did when it came to calling Russian drug cheats for exactly what they are.
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BERLIN, Germany (AFP) – With Germany off to its worst start at an Olympics, there is cause for German concern in Rio de Janeiro where their athletes have yet to medal after three days of competition.
It has been no secret that the Russian Federation athletes should be under a microscope when it comes to global competition.
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AFP) – Saudi Arabia’s Youssef Masrahi, the Asian 400m record holder, was banned yesterday for four years, the Saudi anti-doping agency announced.
The report also described an elaborate system of covering up positive drug tests at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, where Russian athletes won 33 medals, the most of any country.
Wayne Drehs reports from swimming’s morning session where Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte advanced to the 200 IM finals, and Lilly King is feeling “overwhelmed” from the attention she is getting.
When Russian swimmer Yulia Efimova was controversially allowed to compete in the Olympic Games even after testing positive for doping, there was no room for sportsmanship.
“Lilly went off on her”, said Mike Chapman, King’s coach from ages 11 to 17, on the plaza outside the Olympic Park on Tuesday.
“You’re shaking your finger “number one” and you’ve been caught for drug cheating”, she said.
“I’m just not a fan”, she later added.
Both Horton and King have been challenged on the militancy of their attacks on Sun and Efimova.
King failed to the qualify for the 200 meter breaststroke finals, placing near the back of the pack in the semifinals. Efimova received the silver.
“I hope I did [make a statement about doping]”. The International Olympic Committee declined to ban Russian Federation from the Rio Games.
In an interview with ESPN’s Mike and Mike, Lilly continued the negative comments against Efimova.
Talk about putting a target and a ton of pressure on yourself. He says via email, “She is a sweet kid and not the monster she is being branded”. It seems to fly in the face of what the Olympics are to exemplify.
In a wrestling promoter’s ideal scenario, King’s back-stage finger-wagging at a television monitor in response to Efimova’s finger-raising after finishing first in her 100 breaststroke semifinal heat set the stage for her own semi-final race to follow, when she finished first and eclipsed Efimova’s winning time.
Doesn’t such an accomplishment deserve a little bit of respect from her peers? Then she swam over to hug teammate Katie Meili, who won bronze.
“I basically said what everybody’s thinking”, King said, adding that other swimmers “were glad I spoke out and had the guts to say that and I appreciate their support”.
“People want to label people and that’s all they want to do”.
“When they hear stories about contaminated supplements, they think it’s all BS”, he said.
“Whether they’re American or Russian, it doesn’t matter”, Ginny King told CNN. According to Efimova, the first banned substance was purchased over-the-counter at a local GNC. Due to the fact that there have been no tests to determine how long the drug stays in the system, Efimova was allowed to swim at the Olympics. NBC will use “total audience delivery” to convince advertisers that they’re reaching more viewers than the traditional Nielsen figures indicate.
With all of the evidence presented and in keeping with the spirit of the games, it may be time to put these controversies to rest.
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While the comment did drum up some drama for Monday night’s showdown between the two in the event’s final, it also established the long drawn-out narrative of U.S. vs. Russia, or perhaps more specifically, good vs. evil – despite most people not even knowing numerous details of King’s claims.
