Michael Phelps has hammered the authorities for allowing drugs cheats into the Olympic pool, insisting ‘something needs to be done’.
Doping rows have overshadowed the swimming programme in Rio de Janeiro, with Australia’s Mack Horton taunting China’s Sun Yang over his ban in 2014 and the USA’s Lilly King labelling Russian Yulia Efimova a cheat.
Former world champion Efimova has twice served suspensions for doping but got around an IOC ruling that would have kept her out of the Games via an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
That feud with King turned ugly before the American beat her to the 100m breaststroke gold on Monday, leaving the Russian in tears and jeered by the crowd.
Rows over doping, and the way tarnished swimmers have found their way into the Games, saw 19-time gold medallist Phelps admit he is ‘heartbroken’ by what is happening to his sport.
Referring to the stance taken by King, his 19-year-old team-mate, Phelps said: ‘You’re probably going to see people speaking up more. I think she (King) is right. Something needs to be done.
‘It’s sad that in sports in general, not just swimming, there are people testing positive allowed back in — and multiple times.’
Phelps, who overnight raced for the 200m butterfly gold, added: ‘Today we have people testing positive not only once but twice and still having the opportunity to swim. That p****s me off.’
King’s row with Efimova flared on Sunday when the American said: ‘She has been caught drug cheating … I’m not a fan.’
Then after King won gold, with Efimova taking silver, the American said: ‘It just proved that you can compete clean and still come out on top.’ – Daily Mail