Lilly King Says All Former Dopers, Including Justin Gatlin, Should Be Banned From The Olympics
Photo credit: Lee Jin-man/ [object Object] American swimmer Lilly King won the gold medal in the 100 meter breaststroke this evening with an Olympic record-time of 1:04:93, beating Russian Yulia Efimova and putting a cap on the most entertaining rivalry of the Rio Olympics. Efimova was implicated in the massive Russian doping scandal that saw one third of all Russian athletes banned form the Olympics, and King has taken specific issue with her being allowed to compete, wagging her finger at her, staring her down, and generally having no patience for her.
After the win, the 19-year-old star kept right on talking incredible shit.
First, she told NBC, “We can still compete clean and do well at the Olympic Games. And that’s how it should be.” Then, at a press conference, she took it a step further and said that athletes with prior doping offenses should not be allowed to compete in the Olympics. She was asked about Justin Gatlin specifically, and did not shy away from the question:
This is a harsh stance, but at least an evenly meted out one. Gatlin has owned up to his offenses, served his time, and he is back on Team USA, but King is advocating for the nuclear option of anti-doping penalties. Her hard line stance only holds water if she thinks it should be applied to all former dopers in all sports, including Americans.
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