A Team USA swimmer walked back comments he made Friday saying the race in which he had just placed second behind a Russian athlete was “probably not clean.”
Ryan Murphy made the comments after he took the silver medal in Tokyo in the men’s 200-meter backstroke, falling behind Russian swimmer Evgeny Rylov, who scored gold.
“I’ve got about 15 thoughts. Thirteen of them would get me into a lot of trouble,” he said after the race. “It is a huge mental drain on me to go throughout the year that I’m swimming in a race that’s probably not clean.”
The Russian team hit back after the comment, which it labeled as “propaganda.”
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“How unnerving our victories are for some of our colleagues,” the Russian Olympic Committee wrote on its Twitter account. “Yes, we are here at the Olympics. Absolutely right. Whether someone likes it or not.”
“The old barrel organ started the song about Russian doping again,” the statement continued. “English-language propaganda, oozing verbal sweat in the Tokyo heat. Through the mouths of athletes offended by defeats. We will not console you. Forgive those who are weaker. God is their judge. And for us — an assistant.”
Murphy later stepped back from his comments during a press conference with Rylov and bronze medalist Luke Greenback of the United Kingdom, who separately expressed frustration over the Russian team’s participation after the country’s major athlete doping scandal led to it being banned for four years from global sporting events. Russian athletes are still able to compete but not under the country’s name.
“My intention is not to make any allegations here,” Murphy said. “Congratulations to Evgeny, congratulations to Luke. They both did an incredible job. They’re both very talented swimmers. They both train real hard, and they’ve got great technique.”
“I am always tested, and I fill out all the forms, so from the bottom of my heart, I am for a clean sport,” Rylov said when asked whether he cheated. “Ryan didn’t accuse me of anything, so I would rather not react to whatever he says.”
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The World Anti-Doping Agency’s 14-member executive committee voted unanimously on Dec. 9, 2019, to ban Russia for the subsequent two Olympic Games after an investigation found that Russian anti-doping officials had manipulated drug testing data as a cover-up after Team Russia athletes were caught doping.
Russian government officials were also banned from serving on Olympic Committee boards, and the country cannot host or bid to host any major events for the four-year period.
