Russian swimmers were jeered and booed by the crowd at the Olympics Games in Brazil's Rio de Janeiro, the Gazeta.ru news website reported Monday.
The athletes, who were taking part in the men's final of the freestyle 4 x 100m relay, ultimately finished fourth, losing to the United States, France and Australia.
"It's a shame we haven’t won a medal today," swimmer Vladimir Morozov told journalists after the heat. "Though it's no surprise we were booed."
Russian swimmer Yulia Efimova also drew criticism for wagging her finger in victory after coming first in her 100-meter breaststroke semi-final on Sunday, the U.S. television channel NBC reported.
Her American rival Lilly King later lashed out at Efimova in an interview with American journalists. "You're shaking your finger, number one, and you've been caught for drug cheating — I'm just not a fan," the swimmer commented on Efimova's gesture in an interview with NBC.
A number of Russian swimmers, including Morozov and Efimova, were originally excluded from the Games after the International Olympic Committee ruled that Russian athletes with previous doping offenses would be ineligible to compete. They were later admitted to the Games after their appeal the Court for Arbitration of Sport (CAS) was successful.
