Americans Katie Meili, left, and Lilly King, center, won bronze and gold
with Russian Yulia Efimova taking silver in the 100-meter breaststroke
on Monday. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
By Nathan Fenno
While six world records have fallen during the first three days
of competition at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium, boos, taunts and thinly
veiled accusations have filled the humid air.
The specter of
Russia's state-sponsored doping scandal hangs over the pool. The
national anthems after each gold-medal presentation, pounding rock music
in the temporary venue, even the pool that seems designed to break
records can't seem to remove the questions.
Each day brings a new reminder that the International Swimming
Federation, known as FINA, announced last month that seven Russian
swimmers were barred from the Olympics for previously testing positive
for banned substances or being named in the World Anti-Doping
Assn.’s report on the country's extensive doping program.
At least
six of the swimmers were quietly reinstated last week without
explanation. Star breaststroker Yulia Efimova was added to the start
sheets 90 minutes before the first day of competition. Neither FINA nor
the International Olympic Committee has responded to questions about
the reversal or how they determined the swimmers were eligible for the
Games.
The process is clouded in mystery and frustration,
exacerbating the tension that shows no signs of abating during the
eight-day competition. Some swimmers such as Efimova, twice suspended
for doping, are loudly booed each time they step onto the pool deck.
Competitors have traded barbs through the media. Others have demanded
change — they don't know where it will come from — so they can trust
that they aren’t swimming against drug cheats.
"Clearly the
circumstances that we are dealing with are frustrating to a lot of
athletes," U.S. breaststroker Cody Miller said Monday, "and unjust to a
lot of athletes ... because during these Games there will probably be
people who miss the podium to people who don't deserve to be on the
podium. That's wrong."
To many, Efimova symbolizes a flawed system.
That's why
19-year-old American Lilly King directed an icy stare at her before the
start of the 100-meter breaststroke final Monday.
Less than 24 hours earlier, King said she wasn't a fan of Efimova,
24, and made clear that she didn't agree with the IOC sanctioning her
participation. The comments turned King into an overnight hero on social
media — and transformed the race into a heated contest between opposing
views of how the sport should be managed.
"It's no longer just #TeamUSA ... THE WORLD is behind Lilly!" Miller tweeted a few minutes before the final.
"Lilly King tells it like it is …," former American gold medal swimmer Mel Stewart added on Twitter.
King
beat Efimova by more than a half-second — an eternity in the race — to
capture the gold medal and set an Olympic record. Afterward, Efimova,
who won silver, left the pool deck alone. King strode past without
acknowledgment.
In brief comments immediately following the race,
Efimova, who trained with the USC-based Trojan Swim Club, said that a
week ago she hadn't know if she'd be allowed to race "because I'm
Russian."
Two other Russians who were part of the banned, then reinstated,
group — Vladimir Morozov and Nikita Lobintsev — also train with the
club.
Irish swimmer Fiona Doyle called Efimova a cheater a day earlier after she finished last in a preliminary heat won by Efimova.
"FINA caved to [Vladimir] Putin
and that's just not fair on the rest of the athletes who are clean,"
Doyle told the Irish Times. "Who are you supposed to trust now? They
have signs all over the [Olympic] village saying we are a clean sport
and it's not."
The most decorated Olympian of all time joined the fray, too.
"I
think it’s sad that in sports today, we have people who are testing
positive not only once but twice and still having the opportunity to
compete at these Games," Michael Phelps said after qualifying for
Tuesday’s final in the 200-meter butterfly. "It breaks my heart, and I
wish somebody would do something about it."
Meanwhile, the U.S.
continued its dominance in the men’s 100-meter backstroke. Ryan Murphy
took gold — the sixth straight Olympic win for the Americans in the
event — and missed breaking the world record by three-hundredths of a
second. David Plummer of the U.S., who entered the Olympics with the
world’s fastest time in the event this year, finished third.
Hungary’s
Katinka Hosszu, who has also faced past doping questions but never
failed a test, won the 100 backstroke for her second gold of the Games.
U.S. swimmer Kathleen Baker took silver.
The fourth winner Monday,
China’s Sun Yang, served a suspension in 2014 for failing a drug test.
He’s been feuding with Mack Horton since the Games started. The spat
included the Australian star calling Sun a drug cheat.
Yang won the 200 freestyle, while Conor Dwyer finished third.
Not long after King vanquished Efimova, U.S. breaststroker Josh Prenot tweeted: “All is right with the world.”
The race ended, but the discontent hasn’t. Neither have the questions.
nathan.fenno@latimes.com
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