GB bronze medal winner Luke Greenbank questions whether he took part in a ‘clean’ race in 200m backstroke after Russian Evgeny Rylov claimed gold – and says uncertainty over doping at the Olympics is ‘frustrating’
Luke Greenbank has questioned whether he was racing against ‘clean’ swimmers in the 200metres backstroke after winning bronze behind Russian Evgeny Rylov.
The 23-year-old admitted it was ‘frustrating’ that the Russian Olympic Committee were competing at Tokyo 2020 despite the country being banned over their state-sponsored doping programme.
Silver medallist Ryan Murphy was first to raise concerns about the event having finished behind Rylov, who completed a 100m and 200m backstroke double with an Olympic record.
Luke Greenbank (R) questioned whether he took part in a ‘clean’ race after Russia’s Evgeny Rylov (C) secured a gold medal ahead of USA’s Ryan Murphy (L)
But asked if he agreed with Murphy’s comments, Team GB’s Greenbank replied: ‘It’s obviously a very difficult situation not knowing whether who you are racing against is clean. It is something that is part of sports and the board needs to tackle that.
‘It’s a frustrating situation. I just need to keep my mind on the race and control what I can control.
‘I can’t really speak on Ryan’s behalf. Obviously, there’s a lot of media around the Russian federation coming into the Olympics. Obviously it’s frustrating seeing that as an athlete, having known that there is a state-sponsored doping programme going on and more could be done to tackle that.’
Greenbank, who came third in the 200m backstroke, said it was ‘frustrating’ not knowing whether a fellow athlete had doped
In an extraordinary press conference where all three medallists were sat together, Rylov was then asked outright if he doped.
The 24-year-old replied: ‘I have always been for clean competition. I am always tested. I will fill out all of the forms.
‘From the bottom of my heart, I am for clean sport. I am devoting my whole life to this sport. I don’t even know how to react to that.
‘Ryan has all the right to think the way he does and to say whatever he says. This is today and here that we live. We don’t live in the past, we don’t live in the future.
Silver medalist Ryan Murphy opened the discussion about whether the race was ‘clean’, saying his thoughts would ‘get me into a lot of trouble’
‘The time will tell. He did not accuse me of anything, that is why I don’t have anything against him because he didn’t put up forth anything against me directly.’
Rylov clocked 1min 53.27sec to touch out Murphy by just 0.88sec, with Greenbank finishing in a time of 1:54.72 in a repeat of the result at the World Championships in 2019.
Questioned immediately after the race if he thought the race was clean, Murphy replied: ‘I’ve got about 15 thoughts. Thirteen of them would get me into a lot of trouble.
‘It is a huge mental drain on me to go throughout the year (thinking) that I’m swimming in a race that’s probably not clean, and that is what it is.
‘The people that know a lot more about the situation made the decision they did. It frustrates me, but I have to swim the field that’s next to me.
‘I don’t have the bandwidth to train for the Olympics at a very high level and try to lobby the people who are making the decisions that they’re making the wrong decisions.’
Rylov expressed his innocence after the race, stressing that he is ‘always tested’ and believes in clean sport
Following it up in his press conference, Murphy added: ‘To be clear, my intention is not to make any accusations here.
‘At the end of the day, I do believe there is doping in swimming. I think FINA needs to be more transparent both on the financial side and the drug taking side.
‘There’s people that know a lot more about this situation than I do. I’m training to be the absolutely best athlete I can be. So I don’t have time to get involved in this situation.
‘But there is a situation and that’s a problem. I’m sorry that there is a situation but I don’t know enough about it to give a 100 per cent certain answer.’
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