Innocuous red circles dotting the backs of Michael Phelps and other Olympic swimmers piqued the curiosity of international audiences Sunday night when the United States won gold in the men's 400 freestyle relay.
Now the Russian media is onto them.
The country's state-run television network raised suspicion about the dots, a byproduct of a popular form of muscle therapy called cupping, during a segment Monday morning in which the host compared the technique to the use of performance-enhancing drugs.
"Following the Hollywood trend, the method was adapted by athletes," the host explains to viewers, as translated by Mashable.