Look, the Olympics are all about love, togetherness, friendship and building lasting bonds between men, women and countries who ordinarily would have no opportunity, or reason, to interact. But we'd by lying if we said a little good ol' fashioned USA-Russian beef wasn't like some chicken kiev for the Olympic soul. American breaststroker Lilly King must appreciate that sentiment, as she started what promises to be a delicious beef with Russian swimmer Yulia Efimova on Sunday night at the Olympic pool.
A rising sophomore and two-time national champion at Indiana, King had been a near medal shoo-in in the 100 breaststroke thanks, in part, to the banning of Efimova, the reigning world champion in the event. Efimova had served a 16-month suspension in 2013 for testing positive for an anabolic steroid then tested positive again this year for meldonium (the drug that sidelined Maria Sharapova). Coupled with the revelation of Russia's systemic doping program, Efimova was banned from Rio, seemingly officially when a "final" decision was made last Thursday.
Then, stunningly, Efimova, an 11-time medalist at major international competition, was literally given a last-minute reprieve when the Court of Arbitration of Sport ruled she'd be allowed to swim, on advice from WADA. (Nobody has ever claimed this stuff makes sense and if they did they're an idiot.)
So, after months of twists, turns, rulings, appeals and overrulings, Efimova was in. And rather than play the shrinking violet, just diving into the pool, swimming her heat and semifinal races and quietly getting ready for the final, Efimova couldn't help herself. After getting vigorously booed when walking onto the deck, she won the first semifinal on Sunday night and then wagged her finger in the "I'm No. 1" fashion.
King wasn't having it. Watching in the ready room, she was standing about a foot from the TV when Efimova made her self-crowning gesture. When she saw it, King waved her finger right back and millions of people around America yelled "daaaaaaaaaamn!" at their televisions.
Then, proving that actions speak louder than single-finger hand movements, King went out and swam the fastest time of the semifinals, going 0.02 seconds faster than Efimova to be the No. 1 seed.
After, she wasn't shy about her opinions. When NBC's Michele Tafoya asked King about the return finger-wag, King, belying her age and inexperience went hard. "You know, you're shaking your finger No. 1 and you've been caught for drug cheating," she said. "I'm just not a fan. So I'm going to swim my heart of for USA and hopefully it turns out for the best."
They swim tonight, separated merely by a lane line.
