Efimova, who was initially disqualified from competing in Rio by global swimming body Fina, was cleared to take part on the basis of an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport on the eve of the opening ceremony. The first ban came amid allegations of doping back in 2001, a ban that culminated in him being forced from competition for two years. “I think something needs to be done”. It’s kind of sad today in sports in general, not just in swimming…
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The narrative is nearly too good to be true: An American and a Russian battling it out in the confines of an Olympic-sized pool in the lanes next to each other (it nearly made you wish that Kruschev and Kennedy could’ve exchanged letters about it).
But Phelps backed his team-mate Lily King, 19, who beat Yulia to claim the 100m breast stroke title – and then attacked her drug record.
King isn’t the only one who’s made her voice heard.
King condemned Efimova for waving her finger in a No. 1 gesture after winning her semifinal Sunday, while Swedish swimmer Jennie Johansson, who fell short of moving on to the final, protested that a lane had been “taken by someone that doesn’t deserve it”.
When asked about how to distinguish between freedom of speech and trash talk, International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams said on Monday, “We support freedom of speech but on the other hand, at the Olympics it’s also about respecting your rivals”.
While King’s comments were directed specifically at sprinter Justin Gatlin, it’s readily apparent that fellow sprinter Tyson Gay was also a target. This is one for the good guys.
“But we wouldn’t restrict the right of people to say things”. But WADA appears not to have fully understood how long it would take the drug to get flushed out of an athlete’s system, and thus athletes who stopped using it before the ban took effect were still testing positive for it.
“It’s not that everyone who tests positive is evil”, he said in a phone interview.
Lacourt made the blatant accusations post-race.
“Sun Yang, he p***** purple”, Lacourt told French radio after his race.
“I think you’re going to probably see a lot of people speaking out more”, Phelps said.
“I can’t remember the last time I slept properly … It’s like I’m seeing athletics, with two or three dopers in every final”, Lacourt said. “Unless you believe that she was part of some state-sponsored Russian doping scheme”.
Australian chef de mission Kitty Chiller said there would be no apology.
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On the eve of the biggest race of her life, King wasn’t afraid to take a stand.
