RIO DE JANEIRO—This one will surely be seen as a victory for clean athletes over the dopers.
No doubt, that was Lilly King’s take.
The feisty American stared down Yulia Efimova, a swimmer at the center of Russia’s doping scandal, and then beat her in the pool Monday night.
King could hardly contain her satisfaction at capturing gold in the 100-meter breaststroke—especially given who was in the next lane.
“It just proves you can compete clean and still come out on top with all the hard work you put in behind the scenes, behind the meet, at practice and weight sessions,” the 19-year-old Indiana University student said giddily. “There is a way to become the best and do it the right way.”
Efimova arrived in Rio as one of the symbols of the massive Russian doping operation, an athlete who had already served a 16-month suspension and tested positive again this year for the now-banned substance meldonium.
Efimova was initially banned from the Olympics, but that decision was overturned on appeal. King took umbrage at Efimova’s No. 1 finger wag during the semifinals, and the bad blood carried over to the final.
