After the race, Efimova broke down, sobbing uncontrollably as she started to speak to journalists.
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The Russian surged forward in the second half of the race and appeared to be catching her rival, but King finished powerfully in an Olympic record time of one minute 4.93 seconds, with Efimova 0.57 seconds behind. Efimova has twice been suspended for doping, though the second ban was overturned earlier this year. Yet somehow global swimming officials found a way to let her compete.
The International Olympic Committee tried to ease tensions saying the Olympics was about “respecting the right of others to compete”.
“We would encourage people to respect their fellow competitors”.
The bronze went to another American, Katie Meili, at 1:05.69. “I think that the incentives to dope were built into the system a long time ago”. “But that was all I could do right now”. “I won in the courts and I don’t think I have to answer these questions any more”, the Russian told a news conference alongside gold medallist Rie Kaneto of Japan, who beat her in the 200 metres final.
“It just proves that you can compete clean and still come out on top”, King said.
After winning silver in the 200m race Thursday night, Efimova chose to deflect King’s criticism to, of all people, the fan favorite of the entire Olympics. The 22-time Olympic gold medalist was once photographed while appearing to be smoking from a bong, and was arrested for driving under the influence in 2014.
King responded by winning her semifinal heat, which set the pair up against each other in the finals.
Things really got heated when Efimova won her qualifying heat for the finals. “I’m disgusted to see athletes who cheated on a podium”.
Efimova has maintained since her 2013 failed test that she did not know that a supplement she was taking contained a banned substance.
Yvette Kong, Efimova’s rival from Hong Kong, added: “It’s pretty hard because in my event there is someone who is absolutely a drug cheat.
If yogurt gets banned and you’re positive, is that your fault?”
Revelations of state-sponsored doping in Russian Federation have dominated the build-up to the Rio Olympics and increased pressure on athletes and officials to take a stand on the divisive issue.
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Swimming’s war of words overshadowed a day of competition that saw a first gold medal for the Brazilian hosts.
