Swimmer's shocking claim about being drugged at world championships

A Canadian swimming star has shared a deeply personal and alarming story on Instagram, saying she was drugged at the recent FINA World Championships in Hungary.

Mary-Sophie Harvey took to social media to allege she woke up in the care of her team doctor and coach, covered in bruises and with no recollection of the prior four to six hours during the championships in May.

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The 22-year-old Tokyo Olympian said after weeks of reflecting on what had happened, she felt compelled to share her story and potentially help others who might find themselves in a similar situation.

The 2019 Pan American silver medallist collected bronze in the Hungarian capital as part of Canada's 4x200 metres relay team at the swimming world championships, which ended on June 25.

Harvey said she had woken up 'completely lost' and described feeling 'ashamed' by what had transpired.

"I'm still scared to think about the unknowns of that night," she wrote in her social media post.

"I'm still in a way, ashamed of what happened, and I think I always will be ... But I won't let this event define me."

Harvey shared some photos of bruises up and down her legs, saying there were more bruises but she was not comfortable sharing them publicly.

In a statement, Swimming Canada said the incident had happened the night before the team's departure.

“First of all, health and safety of our team members is first and foremost on teams. Our team management and medical staff are always looking out for team members, aware of their whereabouts and fully engaged with any issues," the statement read.

"We are aware there was an incident the night before departure from Budapest. As soon as team staff became aware, Mary received excellent medical treatment from our team physician on site, and was cleared to travel home.

"Staff have been in contact with Mary since her return and we are offering her support. We continue to gather information on the situation, and the file has been forwarded to our independent Safe Sport officer.”

Canadian swimmer Mary-Sophie Harvey details terrifying allegation

Harvey expanded further in her Instagram post, saying she had been out celebrating the end of the World Championships when she believes she was drugged.

She said some of her friends had to carry her home unconscious.

"There's this four to six hour window where I can't recall a single thing," she said.

"I've heard bits and pieces by people and I've experienced judgement too.

"The only thing I can say is this: I've never felt more ashamed.

"I ended up going to the hospital, where I was met with doctors and psychologists.

"They told me it happens way more often than we think, and that I was lucky in a way; to get out of this with a rib sprain and a concussion.

"It did help me cure some of the fears I had, but not all of them."

Harvey said more needed to be done for victims of such a crime, and that she never imagined something like this could happen to her when she was surrounded by friends.

She also said she didn't want to let what had happened define her.

"I'm still scared to think about the unknowns of that night," she wrote.

"I'm still in a way, ashamed of what happened, and I think I always will be.

"But I won't let this event define me. Thank you to the people who helped me when I was vulnerable and to those who have reached out since then."

With AAP

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