US 100m breaststroke hope Lilly King had a message for her Russian rival Yuliya Efimova after the women’s semi-finals: not so fast.
The controversial Efimova, who was only cleared to compete in Rio on Saturday after winning her appeal against a doping ban, won the first semi-final and wagged her finger afterwards, signalling “No1”. King, watching on TV while preparing for the semi-final, mockingly waved her finger back.
King went on to win her race in a quicker time than Efimova’s, and when asked about the gesture by NBC, King, 19, said: “You wave your finger ‘No1’ and you’ve been caught drug cheating … I’m not a fan”.
Efimova, 24, the reigning world champion, was banned by the IOC for having served a previous doping suspension. But she appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport because she had already served a ban, and was allowed to compete at the eleventh hour.
The Russian was greeted with boos and klaxons before the start of the first semi-final.
Codey Miller, who won bronze in the 100m breaststroke, was asked if he heard what King had said. “Heck yeah,” he said. “We do things right. We’re going to get the job done the right way.”
