Olympian Mary-Sophie Harvey caused a real bombshell when she declared on her Instagram account that she had been drugged on the last day of the Aquatic Worlds which took place in Budapest from June 18 to July 3.
Bronze medalist in the 4x200m freestyle relay in Budapest when she swam the preliminaries, Harvey says she has no memory of a four to six hour period the day before the Canadian team left. She left Hungary on June 26.
“I was drugged the last day of the Worlds, she wrote. For a period of four to six hours, I have no memory. My only memory is that the manager of the Canadian team and the doctor were beside me very close to my bed when I woke up. »
During this period when she does not remember anything, the native swimmer of Trois-Rivières who trains under the colors of the CAMO club claims to have been injured. She attached a photo of her sore ribs.
Photo taken from Instagram
A photo she posted on her Instagram account showing injuries she allegedly sustained during that time when she doesn’t remember anything
“I injured my ribs and suffered a concussion. »
Silence was not an option
Eighth in the 4x200m individual medley final, Harvey said she hesitated for a long time before sharing her story publicly, but she decided to go ahead for a very specific reason.
“I wondered if I was going to post or not, but there are so many sad situations like this happening that I mightn’t stay silent. »
“I’m still scared by the things that I can’t remember that happened that night,” Harvey said. In a way, I’m embarrassed regarding what happened and I think I always will be. But I won’t let this incident define me as a person. »
Swimming Canada Reactions
In a statement sent by email, Swimming Canada confirms that an incident has occurred and that an internal investigation has been opened.
In light of the information gleaned so far, it is confirmed that the athletes left the team hotel following the last group meet to celebrate what was the best Worlds in Canadian swimming history with a harvest of 11 medals (3 gold, 4 silver and 4 bronze). Canada finished third behind the United States and Australia. The previous mark was eight established in Gwangju, South Korea in 2019.
“We are aware of an incident that took place the day before we left Budapest,” the organization’s director of communications, Nathan White, confirmed by email on behalf of the organization. As soon as staff were made aware of the situation, Mary-Sophie received excellent medical care from our on-site team physician and it was determined that she might return home. »
Swimming Canada assures that Harvey was not left to fend for herself when she returned home.
“Members of staff have been in contact with Mary-Sophie since her return and still are. We offer him support. We are continuing to gather more information on the situation and the file has been turned over to our Independent Safe Sport Officer. »