American swimmer Lilly King blasts Russian opponent who proclaimed herself No. 1
Lilly King is a great swimmer. She is also incredibly confident and is not a fan of other swimmers who cheat, blasting Russian Yuliya Yefimova in a post-race interview.
On Sunday night, King swam in the preliminary heats for the 100-meter breastroke. However, before her race, she watched as one of her main rivals, Russian Yuliya Yefimova swam in hers.
After Yefimova won her heat, she confidently held one finger up, proclaiming herself No. 1. NBC cameras caught King watching the scene and she didn't seem too pleased. After seeing Yefimova hold her finger up, King held her own finger up towards the television and wagged it back and forth, Dikembe Mutombo style, as if to say, "no, no no."
King then went out and won her heat, beating Yefimova's time by 0.02 seconds.
When King saw her time, the best among all racers in the heats, King did the Mutombo finger wag again ... TWICE!
After the race, NBC's Michelle Tafoya asked King about the finger wags and what the message was behind them.
"You know, you're shaking your finger No. 1 and you've been caught for drug cheating, I'm just not, you know, not a fan," King said confidently.
In 2014, Yefimova was suspended for 16 months after she tested positive for a steroid. Then, earlier this year she reportedly tested positive for meldonium, the same drug that led to the lengthy suspension for Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova. However, she has not been suspended as the World Anti-Doping Agency continues to investigate the use of the drug. Yefimova is facing a potential lifetime ban if the failed test is held up
King still has to face Yefimova in the final, but it seems pretty clear that she won't be lacking confidence.