Ryan Murphy gives U.S. 6th straight gold in 100-meter backstroke
RIO DE JANEIRO -- The United States has extended its domination of the men's 100-meter backstroke.
Ryan Murphy gave the Americans their sixth straight gold medal in the event, rallying on the return lap to win with a time of 51.97 seconds Monday night at the Rio Olympics.
Murphy was fourth at the turn, with Australia's Mitch Larkin setting the early pace.
Larkin couldn't hold on. China's Xu Jiayu surged to the silver in 52.31, while another American, David Plummer, stretched for the bronze in 52.40 - just three-hundredths of a second ahead of a fading Larkin.
It was quite a moment for Plummer, who finally made his first Olympic team at age 30. Now, he's got his first medal.
The Americans haven't lost the men's 100 back since the 1992 Barcelona Games.
In addition, Lilly King of the United States won her showdown with Yulia Efimova after plenty of the bad blood between the two over the Russian's doping record.
After staring down Efimova in the ready room and giving her a look of disdain on the deck, King led all the way to take the gold with a time of 1 minute, 4.93 seconds.
Efimova, who heard a round of boos and a few cheers during the introductions, settled for the silver in 1:05.50. The bronze went to another American, Katie Meili, at 1:05.69.
King was critical of Efimova being allowed to compete in the Rio Games after serving a previous 16-month suspension for doping and testing positive again this year for the now-banned substance meldonium. Possible sanctions over a second violation were put on hold while WADA does more research on the drug.
The 24-year-old Russian is a flashpoint in her country's doping scandal because of her two infractions.
King didn't acknowledge Efimova during a raucous victory celebration. Finally, as the two were picking up their credentials at the side of the deck, King gave her rival a quick pat on the shoulder.