Mary-Sophie Harvey said on her Instagram account that she had been drugged last night while partying in the Hungarian capital and that there was a “four to six hour window where I can’t remember anything”. The sport’s international governing body, Fina, said it would launch an investigation into the incident, calling the allegations “distressing” and saying it was “deeply concerned” for Harvey’s welfare. Harvey, 22, swam at last year’s Tokyo Olympics and won a bronze medal in the relay at the world championships. But in an Instagram post, the swimmer shared a personal account of the incident that left her searching for answers. “On the last night of the World Championships, I got drugged,” she wrote, posting images of several bruises on her body. “While I didn’t know what was inside me, I just remember waking up the next morning completely lost. with our team manager and our doctor at my bedside… The only thing I can say is this: I’ve never felt more ashamed,” she wrote, adding that in addition to support from friends and family, she also had crisis experience. After traveling back to Canada, her mother noticed that she looked different. “I felt like the body I was in wasn’t mine [it still feels this way]. “I came home and found a dozen bruises on my body,” she wrote. “Some of my friends told me afterwards that they had to carry me around while I was unconscious and that probably explained why.” Harvey was treated in hospital by doctors and psychologists and said she felt “lucky” to come out of the incident with sprained ribs and a concussion. “Unfortunately, these events happen more often than we think. An alarmingly increasing number of cases have been reported over the years, but it’s still not talked about enough. Resources for victims are still hard to find and judgment from outsiders is still very present. For anyone reading this, please be careful. I thought I was safe, that it would never happen to me, especially when I was surrounded by friends. But it happened.” Swimming Canada said in a statement that it was aware of “one incident” during the race. “Once team staff became aware, Mary received excellent medical care from our team doctor on site and was cleared to travel home.” Harvey wrote that she was trying to focus on the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, this summer, where she is scheduled to compete. “I still dread thinking about the unknowns of that night,” he wrote. “I’m still in a way, ashamed of what happened and I think I always will be… But I’m not going to let this event define me.”
