ROC mocks enemies after Ryan Murphy’s doping allegations

The Russian Olympic Committee did not appreciate the innuendo of doping among its athletes.

American swimmer Ryan Murphy rang after his second loss to Evgeny Rylov this week at the 2021 Olympics, calling it a “huge mental escape” to be in a race “that is probably not clean”.

The ROC tweeted a mocking response that appeared to target Murphy and other contestants who bemoaned the presence of Russian athletes in Tokyo.

“English propaganda oozes verbal sweat on the Tokyo Games. From the mouths of athletes offended by defeats, ”ROC tweeted.

“We will not console you. We will forgive those who are weaker. God is their judge. He is our helper.

Murphy finished the race in 1:54:15 in the 200 backstroke, just 0.88 seconds off Rylov’s Olympic record – days after finishing third in the 100 backstroke behind Rylov and his Russian teammate Kliment Kolesnikov.

Murphy swept events in 2016, with Rylov’s victory ending America’s streak of 12 straight individual backstroke gold.

“I have about 15 thoughts,” Murphy said. “Thirteen of them would cause me a lot of trouble. It’s like that. I try not to get caught up in this. It’s a huge mental exhaustion for me to go throughout this race as I swim in a race that probably isn’t clean, and that’s what it is.

“People who know a lot more about the situation have made the decision that they have made. It frustrates me, but I have to swim in the field next to me. I don’t have the bandwidth to train for the Olympics at a very high level and try to pressure the people who make the decisions to make the wrong decisions.

Russian athletes are still banned from competing under the Russian flag after their massive doping campaign was revealed in 2014, and will be until the 2022 Games. Instead, they compete as the Russian Olympic Committee, which cannot use the country’s national anthems or traditional uniforms.

Murphy was not alone.

Luke Greenbank, a British swimmer who finished third behind Murphy in the 200 backstroke, echoed the feelings of the silver medalist.

“It is frustrating to know that there is a state sponsored doping program and that there is no more effort to fix it,” Greenbank told reporters.

Earlier in the week, US rower Megan Kalmoe said watching ROC win the silver had given her an “unpleasant feeling”.

“How our victories piss off our colleagues,” ROC tweeted. “Yes, we are here at the Olympics. Absolutely rightly so. Whether some people like it or not. You have to know how to lose. But not everyone can. And here we go again – the same old Russian doping song is played by the old music box. Someone diligently turns the handle.

Rylov also maintained his innocence when asked about Murphy’s comments.

“I don’t understand this suggestion,” he said. “I was concentrating on the result.