--- description: Lilly King spoke out about doping on Monday, following her first-place finish in the 100-meter breaststroke final at the Olympics title: American Gold Medal Winner Says U.S. Dopers Should Be Banned for Life image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt22c9e2d7c7e772a1/6988a1a70b72e324946ea97b/lilly-king-olympics.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Sports](/section/sports/) ## Sports Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [olympics](/tag/olympics/) ## olympics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # American Gold Medal Winner Says U.S. Dopers Should Be Banned for Life  by [Katie Reilly](/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 9, 2016 12:11 PM CUT  Gold medalist Lilly King of the United States poses during the medal ceremony for the Women's 100m Breaststroke Final on Day 3 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on Aug. 8, 2016. Gold medalist Lilly King of the United States poses during the medal ceremony for the Women's 100m Breaststroke Final on Day 3 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on Aug. 8, 2016.Al Bello—Getty Images  by [Katie Reilly](/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 9, 2016 12:11 PM CUT U.S. Olympic swimmer Lilly King spoke out about doping on Monday, following her [first-place finish in the 100-meter breaststroke](http://time.com/4444442/2016-rio-olympics-swimming-rookies/ "undefined") final at the Olympics, arguing that athletes who have been banned for doping in the past should not be allowed to compete again. King, 19, had strong words for both her rival—Russia’s Yulia Efimova, who finished second in the 100-meter race—and for fellow U.S. athletes. When asked, she said U.S. athletes who have been guilty of doping in the past should not be allowed on the team, including U.S. sprinters Justin Gatlin and Tyson Gay, [USA _Today_ reported](http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/rio-2016/2016/08/09/lilly-king-justin-gatlin-tyson-gay-cheats-doping/88440216/ "undefined"). “I have to respect (the track authorities’) decision even if it is something I don’t necessarily agree with,” King said, [according to USA _Today_](http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/rio-2016/2016/08/09/lilly-king-justin-gatlin-tyson-gay-cheats-doping/88440216/ "undefined"). “No, do I think people who have been caught doping should be on the team? They shouldn’t. It is unfortunate we have to see that.” **Read more:** [These Are the Must-Watch Swimming Races at the Rio Olympics](http://time.com/4442088/rio-2016-olympics-swimming-what-to-watch/ "undefined") Gatlin [tested positive](http://time.com/4428016/justin-gatlin-track-and-field-usa/?iid=sr-link1 "undefined") for a performance-enhancing substance in 2006 and served a four-year ban on competing. Gay was [suspended for a year](http://time.com/86501/olympian-tyson-gay-suspended-for-doping-returns-silver-medal/ "undefined") beginning in 2013 after testing positive for a banned substance. “It is just something that needs to be set in stone that this is what we are going to do,” King said, according to USA _Today_. “Let’s settle this and be done with it. There should not be any bouncing back and forwards.” Efimova served a 16-month doping suspension from 2013 to 2015, and she tested positive for a recently banned performance enhancer that is still being studied by experts. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4444555/lilly-king-olympic-games-doping-ban/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4444555/lilly-king-olympic-games-doping-ban/"},"headline":"American Gold Medal Winner Says U.S. Dopers Should Be Banned for Life","datePublished":"2016-08-09T12:11:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T23:51:17.249Z","description":"Even U.S. sprinters Justin Gatlin and Tyson Gay","url":"https://time.com/4444555/lilly-king-olympic-games-doping-ban/","keywords":["olympics"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt22c9e2d7c7e772a1/6988a1a70b72e324946ea97b/lilly-king-olympics.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Katie Reilly","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt22c9e2d7c7e772a1/6988a1a70b72e324946ea97b/lilly-king-olympics.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Swimming - Olympics: Day 3","caption":"Gold medalist Lilly King of the United States poses during the medal ceremony for the Women's 100m Breaststroke Final on Day 3 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on Aug. 8, 2016.","creditText":"Al Bello—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/olympics/","name":"olympics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4444555/lilly-king-olympic-games-doping-ban/","name":"American Gold Medal Winner Says U.S. Dopers Should Be Banned for Life"}}]}] ```