This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

The Olympic pool in Rio continues to be a nexus of petty insults, behindbacks and accusations. As the war between Australian swimmer Mack Horton and the entire nation of China continued on Monday, Russia took aim at its old enemy the United States.

Michael Phelps won his 19th Olympic gold medal on Sunday, and attracted just as much attention for the purple marks all over his body. They come from cupping therapy, a suction-based massage popular with the US Olympic team. There was a huge Google spike after Phelps won gold from fans trying to figure out if he’s been attacked by leeches.

While most searches revealed that cupping is legal under IOC rules – if the benefits are still under question – Russian state TV had its own thoughts.

What is meldonium and why did Maria Sharapova take it? Read more

“Following the Hollywood trend, the method was adapted by athletes,” said the Russian report, via a translation from Mashable. “According to them, vacuum-based massage improves circulation and overall well being, suggesting that muscle repair happens faster after physical exertion. In other words, the net effect from such practices in many ways, is not unlike those of meldonium.”

Meldonium first came to prominence earlier this year when the Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova tested positive for the substance and received a two-year ban.

On Sunday, US swimmer Lily King aimed a shot at her Russian rival Yuliya Efimova, who had previously served a drugs suspension. “[Efimova has] been caught drug cheating … I’m not a fan”.