Russian swimmer Yulia Yefimova has demanded an apology from her critics after winning her second silver medal at the Olympic Games.
Yefimova has been repeatedly jeered and booed while competing at the Games after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) originally banned her from competing.
The IOC decided in July that all Russian
athletes with previous doping offenses would be excluded from the competition
following damning reports on Russia's state-run doping program.
Yefimova, who received a two year doping suspension in 2013, won the right to compete after lodging an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The court ruled in favor of the athletes, calling the IOC's ban “unenforceable."
Yefimova
hit out at her critics on winning her second silver medal of the Games,
saying “I won my case (at CAS). If someone thinks they know better than
the judge then they can go there themselves and look into it. I’m waiting for apologies.”
The swimmer drew special criticism for raising her finger in victory after winning her 100-meter breaststroke semifinal on Sunday. Her American rival Lilly King told journalists “[Efimova] you’re shaking your finger, [like you're] number one, and you’ve been caught for drug cheating - I’m not a fan.”
King, who went on to win gold in the final, did not shake Yefimova’s hand on the medal podium.
U.S. swimming legend Michael Phelps agreed with King's comments, saying “it’s sad that we have people in sports today who are testing positive not only once, but twice, and still having the opportunity to swim at these games.”
