But the brash 19-year-old from IN was much more than that on an electric night at the Olympic pool, where she held off Russian Yulia Efimova IN a 100-meter breaststroke showdown that was loaded with overtones of a new doping Cold War.
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Efimova said she’s been treated unfairly, having already served a penalty for a doping violation that occurred while she was training in Los Angeles with one of America’s most prominent coaches, Dave Salo.
King could hardly contain her satisfaction at capturing gold in the 100-meter breaststroke – especially given who was in the next lane.
“I’m proud to be competing clean and doing what is right”, King said after the race.
The day before she had wagged her finger from just off the pool deck to a televised shot of Efimova celebrating her win in a semifinal heat.
The gold in 100-meter in Rio was her first global medal.
On the eve of the biggest race of her life, King wasn’t afraid to take a stand.
“I’m not a fan”, she added. An Olympic record swim for the gold, just to put an exclamation point on the night.
Efimova was booed upon being introduced to the crowd and when 19-year-old King touched the wall to win in an Olympic record time of 1 minute 4.93 seconds she was given a rapturous reception.
She later switched to her native Russian when she was asked about her opponents’ failure to congratulate her after the race.
Yet there she was in the pool, trying desperately to overcome King’s early lead. She called on them “to swap places with me and understand how I feel”.
At the news conference, she spoke in a trembling voice and struggled to keep her composure as she acknowledged in broken English she had “made mistakes” and complained at the media coverage she had received. Yet somehow global swimming officials found a way to let her compete. But perhaps the more those like King rail against the injustice of it all, the prospect of suffering the same level of humiliation and contempt that Efimova did this week might cause some to think twice before cheating. Neither did another swimmer who has won more Olympic medals than anyone while competing clean.
United States heroes Katie Ledecky and Michael Phelps, who were given a rousing welcome, returned to semi-final action 24 hours after winning their first gold medals of the Games. He has had the same kind of doubts.
The dispute between King and Efimova went beyond the pool when officials from Australia and China got involved. “Of course she has the right to her opinion, but you need to be objective and you need to be honorable”. “This means everything to me”. And the dispute between King and Efimova has the potential to grow as the two compete for a medal Monday night.
Efimova, the Russian who has been sanctioned for cheating, trailed just behind King at the finishing line and narrowly edged King’s teammate, Katie Meili, who won bronze.
If the International Olympic Committee hadn’t bowed down to the Russians to begin with last month, there would have been no such drama. King pointedly disparaged the Russian after the event over her drug history, and the feud has helped make doping spats among swimmers an intriguing subplot in the Rio Games so far.
That didn’t sit well with King, who doesn’t compromise on the issue.
Julie Johnston is a defender for the U.S. Women’s National Soccer team and she dates NFL player Zach Ertz.
“Do I think people who have been caught for doping offenses should be on the team?” “It should be set in stone. There should not be any bouncing back and forth”.
Simple words, spoken from the heart.
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The feud seemed to begin with a simple finger wag, which appears to have become the latest victory celebration fad.
