There has been a "surplus of talk" about doping at the Rio Games, but so far there has been no announcement about an athlete having "failed a drug test," according to Luke DeCock of the Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER. There were 12 failed tests during the '12 London Games, including "three in the first four days." The lack of positive tests could be due to timing, as track and field, which "typically accounts for several failed tests, doesn’t start until the weekend." However, weightlifting "is in full swing." Accusations "have been a big part of these games so far, most notably with American swimmer Lilly King calling out Russian swimmer Yulia Efimova, who has been suspended before" (Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, 8/11).
TAKING A STAND: In Las Vegas, Ed Graney notes the stand King took against doping is a "far more important moment than any medal ceremony involving Michael Phelps or Simone Biles or those track stars set to dominate your TV screen beginning Friday." Sports "need a lot more of King and a lot less of those unwilling to shine a light on its most scandalous ways." Graney: "Perhaps the more those such as 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" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 8/11). In New Jersey, Tara Sullivan writes King "has more than proven her worth in the pool, but it has been her willingness to speak up and speak out against doping that truly set her apart in Rio" (Bergen RECORD, 8/11). The GLOBE & MAIL's Grant Robertson notes this "may be the dawning of a new era of free speech at the Olympics." Athletes at previous Games "remained quiet because they didn’t want to be branded as complainers" (GLOBE & MAIL, 8/11). But in DC, Sally Jenkins notes there is a "disquieting aspect to the narrative going here at the Olympics," as "it’s not a moment of perfect American moral clarity" (WASHINGTON POST, 8/11).
