American swimmer Lilly King sounded off after the president of the Russian Olympic Committee team suggested the medals won at the Tokyo Olympics are the “best answer” to critics who question their presence at the Games following previous doping scandals.
“There are a lot of people here that should not be here,” said King, who has won a silver and a bronze medal in Tokyo.
King’s comments came after president Stanislav Pozdnyakov said critics suggested Russian athletes “can’t compete without doping,” but that the athletes in Tokyo “proved the opposite not just with words, but with their deeds and results.”
King went on to say: “I wasn’t racing anyone from a country who should have been banned and instead got a slap on the wrist and rebranded their national flag. So, I personally wasn’t as affected. But Ryan (Murphy) was.”
After it was revealed that Russia launched a massive, state-sponsored program to elude doping testers in 2014, the team was banned from the Olympics as punishment.
King has been critical of Russian athletes in the past, specifically after she defeated rival Yulia Efimova — a swimmer who had been at the center of Russia’s doping scandal — for gold in the 100m breaststroke at the Rio Olympics.
Russia’s name, flag and anthem were barred from the Games following a legal battle with the World Anti-Doping Agency. After competing under the name OAR — Olympic Athletes from Russia — at the 2018 Winter Games, the athletes are competing in Japan as the Russian Olympic Committee.
The women’s 100-meter breaststroke is no stranger to history-making moments.
Four years ago, it was Lilly King and Yulia Efimova finger-wagging at one another as they dueled in the pool.
On Monday night, it was Lydia Jacoby — 17 years old and the first Alaskan Olympian in swimming — who made history by taking down both King and South Africa’s Tatjana Schoenmaker in a time of 1:04.95 to win gold. It was an upset few saw coming.
LYDIA JACOBY WINS GOLD!
— #TokyoOlympics (@NBCOlympics) July 27, 2021
The 17-year-old from Alaska has DONE IT for @TeamUSA! #TokyoOlympics x @USASwimming
📺: NBC
💻: https://t.co/GFrdWbcFoO
📱: NBC Sports App pic.twitter.com/C4Dj6oThCE
Jacoby overcame both swimmers in the final 15 meters, showcasing just how good she is in the back half of the race. King, the world-record holder, settled for bronze.
The only swimmer to break 1:05 in the heat, Jacoby now sits seventh all-time on the performance list.
It’s an incredible feat for the Alaskan, who trains in short course yards because Alaska has one 50-meter pool in the entire state. Now, not only is she the first Alaskan Olympian in swimming, but she’s also the first Alaskan ever to win a gold medal in swimming. The reactions back home matched the accomplishment.
Team Lydia is HYPEE 🙌
— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) July 27, 2021
pic.twitter.com/cCKSazZR2b
And Alaska went WILD! 🙌 👏 pic.twitter.com/OEkATFxd3Z
— USA Swimming (@USASwimming) July 27, 2021
The swim also lands Jacoby on another elite-level list: In the past 20 years, only Katie Ledecky and Missy Franklin were younger when they won individual gold medals.