Russian Olympic swimmer Yulia Efimova lashed out against her competitors Tuesday after she was booed on the podium while accepting the silver medal in the 100-meter breaststroke, accusing athletes who criticized her for doping of "using sport" to ignite a new Cold War.
American swimmer Lilly King, who defeated Efimova to win gold Monday, had earlier vented frustration that the Russian swimmer was allowed to compete given her two previous bans for doping charges. Both King and her USA teammate Katie Meili, who won bronze, refused to shake hands with Efimova on the podium.
"I don’t really understand the foreign competitors. All athletes should be above politics, but they just watch TV and believe everything they read," Efimova told Russia’s Tass agency in Rio. "I always thought the Cold War was long in the past. Why start it again by using sport?"
Efimova was reinstated to compete on the eve of the Olympics after a rule barring Russians who had been previously charged of doping from participating in the games was overturned Saturday.
The Russian swimmer tested positive for a banned steroid in 2013 and earlier this year failed a test for the banned substance meldonium. She claimed to have stopped using meldonium before it was prohibited, and she was able to compete after the International Swimming Federation reversed the ban.
King condemned Efimova for waving her finger in a No. 1 gesture after winning her semifinal Sunday, while Swedish swimmer Jennie Johansson, who fell short of moving on to the final, protested that a lane had been "taken by someone that doesn’t deserve it."
"You wave your finger ‘No. 1’ and you’ve been caught drug cheating. I’m just not a fan," the 19-year-old King said.
"If that’s what she feels she needs to be able to compete, whatever, that’s her deal," she added later. "I’m here to compete clean for the U.S."
After beating Efimova in the 100-meter breaststroke Monday night, King called her win a "victory for clean sport."
Russian President Vladimir Putin previously called the widespread doping accusations against his country’s competitors "deliberate campaign targeting our athletes."