Russian swimming chief Vladimir Salnikov said on Tuesday the atmosphere surrounding his team at the Olympics reminded him of the Cold War, and criticized American breaststroke champion Lilly King for attacking the integrity of her Russian rival.
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Lilly King of the United States, who recently won the gold in that race ahead of the Russian, had overtly expressed her displeasure that Efimova had been allowed to participate despite being banned before for doping infractions.
“You’re shaking your finger no. 1, and you’ve been caught for drug cheating”.
Efimova told reporters on Monday she had not slept for weeks because of the stress of not knowing whether or not she would be able to swim in Rio. The pre-finals had seen Efimova edge out her rival and she celebrated by wagging her finger to say “No. 1”.
Gold medal victor United States’ Lilly King, left, celebrates with bronze medal victor United States’ Katie Meili after the final of the women’s 100-meter breaststroke during the swimming competitions at the 2016 Summer Olympics, Monday, Aug. 8, 2016, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
“I was really just in the moment”, she said.
USA swimmer Lilly King sent a strong message Monday, beating Russian swimmer Yuliya Yefimova in the 100-meter breaststroke to take home the gold medal.
“Do I think people who have been caught for doping offenses should be on the team?” The 24-year-old Russian is a flashpoint in her country’s doping scandal because of her two infractions.
I certainly do not know much about the sport of swimming, but I do know a thing or two about taking pride in being an American.
“I think people should be speaking out more”.
“I once made a mistake and served my ban”, she said, referring to her 16-month suspension. “I’m just not a fan”, King said.
“I’m actually glad I made a statement and I ended up coming out on top in the race”, King said.
It’s Olympic season and the Rio Games are in full swimg. Bob Bowman, the longtime coach of Michael Phelps, told the New York Times: “It’s very concerning to me that our governing bodies have dropped the ball in many ways on this”. But she was cleared to compete last week after an appeal.
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As part of the International Olympic Committee’s decision not to throw the entire Russian team out of the Olympics, Efimova was initially banned along with six other Russian swimmers who either had positive tests on their record or were named in an investigation of Russia’s massive, state-sanctioned doping scheme. “No, they shouldn’t”, she said.
