‘Sun Yang p**ses purple’ says French swimmer Camille Lacourt China’s gold medal swimmer Sun Yang has faced some vocal criticism from his fellow competitors in Rio already, with Australia’s […]

China’s gold medal swimmer Sun Yang has faced some vocal criticism from his fellow competitors in Rio already, with Australia’s Mack Horton saying “I don’t have time or respect for drug cheats.”

Now France’s Camille Lacourt, who finished fifth in the 100m backstroke, weighed in, speaking frankly to French radio on the Chinese swimmer’s doping past after his race last night.

He said:

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“Sun Yang, he pisses purple. “I am very sad when I see my sport getting like this. I have the impression I am looking at athletics, with two or three doped in each final. “I hope that (swimming’s governing body) FINA is going to do react and stop this massacre, because it is getting sad.”

Three-month ban

Sun Yang, who won gold in the 200m freestyle and silver (behind Horton) in the 400m, served a secret three-month ban after testing positive for the substance trimetazidine. Chinese sports officials said that Sun had been using the drug for years to treat heart palpitations before it was banned in January 2014.

It’s not the only time Sun has been a less-than-ideal role model. In 2014, he spent a week in jail for crashing his car into a bus in China while driving without a licence. His excuse? As an athlete, he didn’t have the mental space to remember road rules.

“Because I have been focusing on training and competition, I had only a hazy knowledge of the law, which led to my mistake.”

Boos from the crowd

Doping has cast a long shadow in Rio, with Russian athletes routinely greeted with boos from the crowd after revelations of systemic cheating.

Russian competitor Yulia Efimova has served a 16-month doping ban and tested positive for meldonium, the same substance Maria Sharapova used, earlier this year – though the result was overturned.

American swimmer Lilly King beat Efimova in the 100m breaststroke last night after speaking out against her inclusion in the event.