Russian swimmer Yulia Yefimova has blamed the stress of
Russia's turbulent Olympic journey for her failure to get into "proper
shape" for this summer's Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
The
four-time World Champion broke down in front of reporters on Monday
after taking second place in the women's Olympic 100-meter breaststroke
final, the TASS news agency reported.
"The last few weeks were really hard for me. I don’t remember when I slept longer than four hours a day," the swimmer said, confessing that she had failed to get in proper shape for the Games. "I don’t even know how I managed to get to the finals."
A number of Russian swimmers, including Yefimova, was 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.
