Efimova looking to erase Rio pain

SINGAPORE — It may have been two months since the Rio Olympics ended, but for Yulia Efimova, the heartache she felt after being humiliated there remains.

Still hurting from being booed and criticised by fans and her peers on the world’s biggest sporting stage, because she managed to get the green light to compete at the Games despite being banned twice for doping offences, the Russian swimmer described the harrowing experience as “war”.

A four-time world champion in the breaststroke events, Efimova fell from grace when she tested positive for the steroid hormone DHEA on Jan 2014, and served a 16-month doping ban.

Two years later, ahead of the Olympic Games, she tested positive six times for the banned substance meldonium and faced the prospect of a life ban from the sport.

However, the ban was later lifted by the World Anti-Doping Agency and she was cleared by swimming world body Fina to compete in Rio.

But fans and fellow swimmers in Rio were not so forgiving as they greeted her with boos whenever she took to the pool. The backlash reached a head after her 100m breaststroke final defeat by American Lilly King.

After the race, King called Efimova a drug cheat and said the Russian should not be competing because of her doping history. As a result of the intense media spotlight, Efimova had a meltdown.

Opening up to TODAY yesterday, Efimova said she still feels a deep sadness whenever she looks back at the episode.

“At the Rio Olympics, I was nervous, sick, because of everything (that was said about me). It was just a crazy time. But I did the best I could, and I was happy that I could swim and race,” said the 24-year-old, who was born in the war-torn Chechen capital of Grozny.

“Yes, I am still hurting a little bit now. It was hard, but I try not to think about Rio. I just try to remember more of good memories. But of course it hurts. I will never get over it.”

On King’s criticisms, she added: “I’ve said before that Lilly King is young, five years younger, and she may not understand certain things at the moment. People just listen to the media without fully understanding the situation sometimes, so a lot of the athletes in Rio probably did that. They just listened, don’t know if things are true, but still made something out of it.”

Efimova insisted she did not dope on purpose. “A lot of athletes have the same situation as me — they didn’t take the substances on purpose but only I have some crazy things happening to me. People don’t understand, and they make some criticisms,” she said.

“The first time, when I moved to the United States, I just bought a supplement that a lot of people took but, unfortunately, it was not clean. I didn’t read the list of ingredients on the box.

“When it happened, it was crazy, and I started thinking where that came from. I don’t read or understand English, so it was hard.

“It has been hard but I’m a warrior. After the 100m (breaststroke) race (in Rio), I told myself it’s over.

“But now I feel much better. Now, life is almost back to normal. I feel happy again. Everybody is smiling, and having fun.”

Indeed, at the OCBC Aquatics Centre last night, there was no booing on Day One of the Singapore leg of the Fina/airweave Swimming World Cup as Efimova took a silver in the 100m breaststroke (1:03.21), and a bronze in the 200m individual medley (2:08.17).

“I know I can make more records (after the Olympics) so I went to take part in the World Cup events even though that would put me in the spotlight again,” she said.

“I want to swim faster, and I know I didn’t have a good performance and experience at the Olympics, and I just want to see if I can swim normally again.

“I am glad I can. I think almost everything is back to normal now. Exposure to good things help me a lot.”

Records also fell yesterday. Australian Olympic gold medallist Kyle Chalmers, 18, erased the 100m short-course world junior record (47.20s) with his time of 46.61s, while Singapore’s Lionel Khoo, 21, set a new national record in the 200m breaststroke.

The 21-year-old timed 2:11.80 to rewrite his old mark of 2:12.47 set last December.