U.S. swimmer LILLY KING's celebration of her Gold Medal in the 100m breaststroke on Monday night immediately became one of biggest stories of the Games. After finishing the race more than half a second ahead of Russian YULIA EFIMOVA, King said, "It's incredible, just winning a Gold Medal, and knowing I did it clean." That remark referenced the scandal surrounding the IOC's decision not to issue a blanket ban on Russian athletes over alleged state-organized doping. Prior to the final, King ensured the race would be in the spotlight with her actions in the GIF available below, which followed Efimova winning the semifinal.
Before the final, King said to NBC, "You're shaking your finger No. 1, and you've been caught for drug cheating. I'm just not a fan." After the race, King said of speaking out beforehand, "I'm actually glad I made a statement, and I ended up coming out on top in the race." King's words had her trending on Twitter, and top athletes, coaches and reporters did not hesitate to weigh in.
EFIMOVA RESPONDS: Efimova: "I understand the people who didn't congratulate me because the media was full of fake stories about me. But on the other hand I don't really understand the foreign competitors. All athletes should be above politics, but they just watch TV and believe everything they read. I always thought the cold war was long in the past. Why start it again, by using sport? ... I don't even know how I made it to the final. The last few weeks have been very hard, and I can't remember the last time I had more than four hours of sleep. I wasn't in my best form. I'm really upset I couldn't win today" (London GUARDIAN, 8/9).
'ROLLERCOASTER RIDE': King's college coach, Indiana's RAY LOOZE: "We were supposed to take the high road. That's what I told her to do! I told her, 'Take the high road. Don't say anything. Don't get involved. Let's let our actions speak louder than our words.' But they're adults, and they have opinions. The way it all laid out, with these (Russian swimmers) becoming eligible on Saturday ... it's a rollercoaster ride. Some people aren't going to do anything about it unless the athletes rise up. Hopefully, this will lead to other people putting pressure on the governing bodies. It's something you can fix. Like, the McLaren report, all the retesting of former (athletes). It's working. It's just, people need to have a backbone. That's all. I support Lilly 100 percent. I'm not going to back down from that" (USA TODAY, 8/9).
CHOOSING SIDES
Lithuanian RUTA MEILUTYTE, the world record holder in the 100m breaststroke, said, "We train fair. When something like that happens, it's never nice. These are not the values of our sport" (AP, 8/8).
Seven-time Olympic medalist KIRSTY COVENTRY of Zimbabwe: "Hopefully, that ban made her [Efimova] clean in a way. Hopefully, people that are cheating now know that they're going to get caught. It's just a matter of time. It's a little disappointing that there are certain people that are here" (AP, 8/8).
MICHAEL PHELPS: "I think people should be speaking out more. You know I think (Lilly) is right. I think something needs to be done. ... It's kind of sad that today in sports in general, not just in swimming, there are people who are testing positive and are allowed back in the sport, and multiple times. I think it just breaks what sport is meant to be and that pisses me off" (London TELEGRAPH, 8/9).
'NOT ALL WERE DOPING': Former Olympic swimming coach PHILIPPE LUCAS: "Russians blew the whistle but not all were doping. There are clean guys, that trained and suffered and performed. The guys that blew the whistle, they trained for four years and they won’t go to the Games? It has to stop."
When asked by France Télévisions' ALEXANDRE BOYON if there is a double standard concerning anti-doping in general, citing JUSTIN GATLIN, the American sprinter that was suspended for five years after a positive test and is competing in the 100m at Rio, Lucas said, "You think there's only Russians and Chinese? Stop taking people for fools" (SPORT 24, 8/9).
LACOURT RIPS SUN: French swimmer
CAMILLE LACOURT called out Chinese swimmer
SUN YANG, who served a three-month ban in '14, saying, "Sun Yang, he pisses purple. I am very sad when I see my sport getting like this. I have the impression I am looking at athletics, with two or three doped in each final. I hope that [swimming's world governing body] FINA is going to react and stop this massacre, because it is getting sad" (
ABC, 8/9).
