Lilly King wasn’t afraid to speak her mind Sunday night.
The 19-year-old USA swimmer wagged her finger in disdain while calling out Russian Yulia Efimova, who previously had been banned from the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro as part of her nation’s major doping scandal.
Efimova never responded to the criticism, but the Internet was ablaze with the controversy King had stirred.
After talking the talk, King walked the walk, defeating Efimova in the women’s 100M breaststroke final Monday, setting an Olympic record (1:04.93) en route to her gold medal.
She threw a bit more shade after her victory.
“It was so incredible, winning a gold medal and knowing I did it clean,” King said, according to USA TODAY Sports.
Efimova (1:05.50) finished just tenths of a second behind, though, earning a silver medal. American Katie Meili was the surprise of the race, earning a bronze (1:05.69) just hundredths of a second behind Efimova.
Thumbnail photo via David E. Klutho/USA TODAY Sports Images
