Sports

PEACE. Solidarity. Respect. The Olympics stand for some fine values. But sometimes sport provides greater drama when there’s a bit of friction.

Here are some of the rivalries that will split global audiences at the greatest show on earth.

Lilly King & Yulia Efimova – 100m breaststroke.

Back in Rio, American King, then 19, was watching the previous 100m breaststroke heat from backstage. It featured Russian world champion Efimova.

Russia was at the heart of controversy after a World Anti-Doping Agency report, claiming the country had operated a state-sponsored doping regime, had been released a month earlier.

Efimova herself already had previous, with a 16-month ban for steroid use on her record in 2014.

As she cruised to victory in her heat, Efimova, now 29, celebrated by holding up her index finger, apparently suggesting she was still number one.

King, watching from back in the call room, was captured responding by wagging her own finger disapprovingly at the screen.

It created a media storm, with King calling out Efimova for her doping past in her poolside interview.

Come the final, Efimova emerged to a chorus of jeers before being beaten to gold by King.

Things are less tense now, but the bad blood is still in the system.

“Do we like each other? Not really. But at this point, we can be civil and be in the same room with each other,” King told the Athletic in June.

“You’re always in charge of what you put into your body. Whether it was a mistake or not, you took it willingly, and that’s not something I care to forgive.”

Rafael Aghayev & Luigi Busa – kumite -75kg (Karate)

In front of 20,000 fans in Paris, Italian Busa, fighting with a broken ankle, scored an upset to win the -75kg world karate title.

In karate, there is a post-bout protocol of a handshake and then a ceremonial bow. Nowhere does it suggest performing the Gangnam Style dance in between the two.

But that is just what a jubilant Busa did – and what five-time world champion Aghayev, who is referred to as the ‘Maradona of karate’ by the sport’s governing body president, cannot forgive.

“He began to dance in front of me. It didn’t feel good and it caused me to close myself in for the next six or seven months,” says Azerbaijani Aghayev.

“I’m not friends with Aghayev,” admits Busa.

“It was not a tease. It was only a result of my joy that I let out, that’s it. I respect him very much. If he taunts me back, I don’t care.”

The Macarena? Soldier Boy? A bit of Dougie? What dance steps has Aghayev been learning?

Sifan Hassan & Laura Muir – 1500m

When Hassan won the 1500m world title in Doha in October 2019 in the sixth-fastest time in history, Britain’s Muir, back in fifth, said it was impossible to look at the result in isolation.

Four days earlier Alberto Salazar, Hassan’s coach, had been banned from the sport for four years for doping violations.

“Given the news of the past couple of days, I think there is a cloud,” said Muir. “There’s no avoiding that.”

Hassan disagreed. To put it mildly.

In an angry post-race interview, she denied any suggestion that her performance was tainted by association using terms that required the BBC to wheel out the bleep machine.

Hassan comes into the Olympics in sensational form, having obliterated the 10,000m world record in June – though her own record was broken two days later by Ethiopian rival Letesenbet Gidey.

However, she has been entered into the 1500m, 5,000m and 10,000m by the Netherlands Athletics Federation.

If Hassan does take on all three, it might swing the advantage to Muir, who has decided to focus solely on the 1500m rather than a double with the 800m.

“All we want is a level playing field. There is only so much you can control,” said Muir.

Simone Biles & MyKayla Skinner – vault

We all know about Biles. In Rio, the then 19-year-old scooped four gold medals, backing up an extraordinary run of world titles and confirming herself as perhaps the greatest gymnast of all time.

Skinner, three months her junior, was also there with the US team. But not on any apparatus. She was named as a travelling reserve for Rio and says she “probably cried every single night” during the Games.

Skinner dropped out of elite gymnastics on her return home, enrolled at the University of Utah and duly tore up the collegiate scene.

At June’s US trials, Skinner came closest to matching Biles on the vault and clinched the fifth and final spot on the team for Tokyo.

Her redemption arc isn’t winning over everyone though. In a world of fixed smiles, Skinner is not afraid to scowl or speak her mind. She has called out judges, on the mat and social media, who she doesn’t feel give her due credit.

After her omission from the 2016 team, Skinner retweeted comments criticising the decision, including one that used a racist emoji and another with a photoshopped image of her head on the body of African American Gabby Douglas. Skinner later apologised and deleted the post.

Kyle Snyder & Abdulrashid Sadulaev – 96kg (wrestling)

“…but I want to destroy him on the mat.”

The pair have been on a continual collision course since Sadulaev moved up to American Snyder’s 96kg weight division.

Sadulaev comes from the mountains of Dagestan in Russia and his down-to-earth Instagram account has become a left-field hit, with more than a million followers watching him plough fields, pray, ride horses and train.

Snyder, born in Maryland, was a high school wrestling phenomenon whose success led to former President Donald Trump appointing him to his Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition.

Both became Olympic champions at 20 in Rio. Since Sadulaev’s move up in weight class, they have met on three occasions.

In the 2017 World Championship final, Synder clinched a dramatic, late comeback win.

Sadulaev took revenge with a 70-second victory in the 2018 World Championship final.

A third battle, with Tokyo gold on the line, would be a clash for the ages.

Dina & Arina Averina – all-around (rhythmic gymnastics)

Dina, the younger sister, has the pedigree. She won three all-around world titles in a row between 2017 and 2019.

Arina, her older sister by 20 minutes, has the form, having beaten Dina to the European crown in June.

Dina has the more dynamic style while Arina is noted for her clean handling of the apparatus.

Dina describes herself as “ruthless” in competition.

“A lot of fans say that I am the tank, that I am the Terminator,” she said.

Arina admits her sister is “more tough” but is hardly laid-back herself.

“In life I am a gentle person, but in training, sometimes it is hard to work with me. Sometimes I manifest my character in an unnecessary direction,” she says rather mysteriously.

She is listed as “little tiger” in Dina’s phone and Arina adds: “As children, we did not need a reason to fight. We quarrelled a lot.”

However, of their current relationship, Dina said: “Now there really is no rivalry between us and I’m happy for Arina more than for myself – as she is for me.”

But if the Tokyo judges pick one over the other for gold, will that new harmony come under strain?

BBC Sport

– July 20, 2021 @ 17:28 GMT /

Tags: Tokyo 2020: Six rivalries to light up the Olympics