U.S. Olympic swimmer beats Russian she called "drug cheating"

RIO DE JANEIRO -- 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.

On Sunday, when Efimova waved a No. 1 finger after her semifinal, King leaned back and gave her own version toward Efimova's face on a TV monitor.

King then qualified fastest for the eight-woman final in 1 minute, 5.70 seconds, just ahead of Efimova's time of 1:05.72.

CBSSports.com's Adam Silverstein reported that after placing first in her heat and the semifinals as a whole, King was interviewed by NBC and asked specifically about her finger wag from minutes earlier and what was going through her head at the time. Many believed it was in response to a finger wag from King earlier in the competition.

This is where King slayed Efimova and probably further hindered U.S.-Russian relations.

"You're shaking your finger No. 1, and you've been caught for drug cheating. I'm just not a fan," she said.