Russian swimmer Yefimova might continue to compete in 2024 Olympics

Fife-time world swimming champion Yuliya Yefimova of Russia says she may make a decision concerning her professional career in a spontaneous manner, and she may stay to participate in the 2024 Olympic Games.

"I will definitely be swimming a year after Tokyo (the 2020 Olympics), we will see. Maybe I'll wake up tomorrow and say 'That's it, I want to get married'. It depends on me and what's happening around me. So far I'm not planning to go anywhere, the 2020 Olympics are ahead, and who knows, then there's the year 2024," the 26-year-old swimmer told Tass news agency on Tuesday.

"The world is changing. I wanted to stop at 16, then at 18, and I'm still here," she added.

Yefimova is a two-time silver Olympic medallist. She also received a bronze at the Olympics. The 2024 Olympic Games will take place in Paris.

Russian athletes may encounter problems with admission to the 2020 Olympic Games, the situation is unpredictable, Yefimova added.

Due to a series of doping scandals, some Russian athletes did not compete in the 2016 Olympics, and in 2018, the athletes greenlighted to compete did so under a neutral flag. Yefimova was admitted to the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro on the same day the competition started.

"You have to be ready for everything, but prepare to compete anyway," Yefimova noted. "I hope that everything will be alright. In 2016, I was almost sure that I'm not going to the Games, that they won't let me go anywhere, and in the end I did go, they admitted me on the last day. It's hard to say, but there will definitely be some problems with admitting our athletes."

"The situation is so unpredictable that I wouldn't try to make forecasts. However, I'll be on standby for the Games," she added.

--IANS

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