Athletes who are being allowed to compete in the Rio Olympics despite a prior history of doping have become something of a hot-button issue casting a shadow over the Games. On Monday, French swimmer Camille Lacourt decided to fan the flames.
Lacourt finished fifth in the men’s 100m backstroke just after Chinese swimmer Sun Yang took home the gold medal in the men’s 200m freestyle Monday. But Yang was caught doping in the past, having served a three-month ban in 2014 after testing positive for the stimulant Trimetazidine, and Lacourt wants to make sure that nobody forgets it.
In an interview with French radio station RMCsport after his race, Lacourt put Yang on blast.
“Sun Yang, he pisses purple,” said Lacourt per Karl McDonald of iNews. “I am very sad when I see my sport getting like this. I have the impression I am looking at athletics, with two or three doped in each final. I hope that (swimming’s governing body) FINA is going to do react and stop this massacre, because it is getting sad.”
We already saw a similar storyline unfold on the women’s side with American swimmer Lilly King and her comments about embattled Russian rival Yulia Efimova. As long as the International Olympic Committee and other governing bodies continue failing to crack down on established dopers, it’s an issue that’s sure to be causing controversy for a long time to come.
Image Credit: Erio Tac- Wikimedia Commons
