US silver medalist Ryan Murphy has claimed the 200m backstroke race was 'probably not clean' after he lost out on gold to Russian swimmer Evgeny Rylov.
Murphy told reporters after the race Friday morning that it is a 'huge mental drain' to think he is participating in a race tainted by doping and said it 'frustrates' him that Russian athletes are competing in the Tokyo Games, after the state-sponsored doping program was exposed.
Moscow hit back at his comments branding the 26-year-old a bad loser 'offended by defeats' and said Russia's sports stars were participating in the Olympics 'whether people like it or not.'
Murphy bagged a silver medal for Team USA Friday finishing in a time of 1 minute 54:15 - just 0.88 seconds behind Rylov's 1 minute 53.27 seconds win.
Team GB's Luke Greenbank took home bronze, coming in at 1:54.72.
Luke Greenbank (R) questioned whether he took part in a 'clean' race after Russia's Evgeny Rylov (C) secured a gold medal ahead of USA's Ryan Murphy (L)
Murphy sparked controversy after the race, appearing to suggest he was trumped to the top spot due to doping.
'I've got about 15 thoughts. Thirteen of them would get me into a lot of trouble,' he said, when asked if he thought the event was clean during a press conference where he sat alongside both Rylov and Greenbank.
'It is a huge mental drain on me to go throughout the year (thinking) that I'm swimming in a race that's probably not clean, and that is what it is.'
He continued: 'The people that know a lot more about the situation made the decision they did. It frustrates me, but I have to swim the field that's next to me.
'I don't have the bandwidth to train for the Olympics at a very high level and try to lobby the people who are making the decisions that they're making the wrong decisions.'
Greenbank also appeared to side with the American, admitting it was 'frustrating' that Russian athletes were competing despite the country being banned.
'It's obviously a very difficult situation not knowing whether who you are racing against is clean. It is something that is part of sports and the board needs to tackle that,' he said.
'It's a frustrating situation. I just need to keep my mind on the race and control what I can control. I can't really speak on Ryan's behalf.
'Obviously, there's a lot of media around the Russian federation coming into the Olympics.
Rylov was also asked outright if he doped in the briefing - something he strenuously denied.
Silver medallist Ryan Murphy opened the discussion about whether the race was 'clean', saying his thoughts would 'get me into a lot of trouble'
The 24-year-old replied: 'I have always been for clean
