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Doping allegations surrounding China’s swimming team events overshadowed in the pool at the Paris Olympics, discrediting the integrity of the sport.
China has claimed that there are recent reports of doping among 23 swimmers who tested positive Before the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games were The result of food contamination – an explanation accepted by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
Chinese swimmers have played down the doping controversy, stressing that they have undergone a rigorous testing regime before and during the Games.
Telegraph Sport explains what happened and why there are so many suspicions surrounding the Chinese team.
What happened?
In April 2024, the New York Times published an investigation revealing that 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine (TMZ) months before the COVID-19-delayed Games were due to begin in July 2021. All of the swimmers were cleared by the Chinese Anti-Doping Agency (CHNA), which blamed contaminated food. The 30-member Chinese swim team won six medals at the Tokyo Games, including three golds. CHNA said in a statement to the New York Times that its athletes had not violated any anti-doping laws and that it was not required to release any details without the athlete’s consent.
What are the suspicions?
The revelation that the Chinese team had failed drug tests in the past has cast a huge shadow over the Paris Olympics, sparking fears that China is involved in a doping cover-up. It comes after Pan Zhanle, who was not one of the 23 swimmers implicated in the Times story, shaved nearly half a second off his time in the 100m freestyle before setting another record for the fastest final leg in the men’s 4x100m medley on Sunday night.
The issue has sparked a diplomatic row between the United States and China, with several Chinese swimmers saying they have been given a cold shoulder by their American and Australian competitors.
What is trimetazidine?
TMZ is found in heart medications and helps metabolize fatty acids, which in turn helps the body use oxygen. The drug allows for increased blood flow to the heart and limits sudden changes in blood pressure. Although it was developed for medical use in the 1970s, it only became a banned drug on WADA’s banned substances list in 2014.
How did Wada respond?
In light of the Times report, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) confirmed that 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for TMZ ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but accepted the country’s findings that this was due to contamination with the substance.
In a lengthy statement, WADA criticised “misleading and potentially defamatory media coverage” of the affair. It also detailed that it had conducted a thorough review based on “additional unpublished scientific information on TMZ” in which it consulted independent scientific experts to test China’s contamination theory that “low doses of TMZ could have benefited athletes during a swimming competition”.
Have Chinese athletes used trimetazidine before?
Yes. One of the most high-profile cases involving TMZ is that of Chinese Olympic gold medalist Sun Yang, who was suspended for three months in 2014 after failing a test for the drug. Sun said he was prescribed the drug to treat chest pain by an Olympic team doctor, who was apparently unaware that it had recently been added to WADA’s banned substances list. Sun was later suspended for four years in 2018 after an altercation with drug testers in China involved him destroying vials of blood.
What medals has China won in swimming?
China finished fifth in the swimming medal table at the Paris Olympics, with two golds, three silvers and seven bronzes. Six of those 12 medals were won by Zhang Yufei, who was among 23 Chinese swimmers who tested positive for TMZ ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.
In response to a cold reception during the medal ceremony over the weekend, Yufei replied“Why are Chinese athletes questioned when they swim fast, but nobody dares to question (Michael) Phelps or (Katie) Ledecky before? I don’t think the doping incident will have a serious impact on us because we are innocent.”
How have others responded?
Adam Peaty:“There is no point in winning if you don’t win fairly.”
Three-time British Olympic champion
“One of my favorite phrases I’ve heard lately is ‘there’s no point in winning if you’re not winning fairly. ’ I think you know that’s true in your heart. Even if you hit (the wall) and you know you’re cheating, you’re not winning fairly,” Peaty said.
“In my opinion, if you have been infected twice, as an honourable person, you should be out of sport. But we know that sport is not that simple. I have also been asked by people who have not been infected, and I respect that, I don’t want to paint a whole nation or a whole group of people with one brush. I think that is very unfair.
“But there have been two instances of that and I think it’s very disappointing. I’ve tried to keep it out of the conversations so far for the good of the team, but I think we’re going to use that to our advantage over the next four years whether I’m there or not. I know these guys will carry it through and we’ll see how they do in four years. But I think the people who need to do the job need to wake up and do their job.”
Brett Hawke:’It is not humanly possible’
Australian swimming coach who competed at the 2000 and 2004 Olympics, speaking after Pan’s individual gold
“Look, I’m angry for a number of reasons. Look, my friends are the fastest swimmers in history, from Rowdy Gaines to Alex Popov to Gary Hall Jr. to Anthony Ervin to King Kyle Chalmers. I know these people intimately, I’ve studied them for 30 years.
“I’ve studied this sport. I’ve studied speed. I understand it. I’m an expert at it, that’s what I do, OK? I’m upset right now that you don’t win the 100m freestyle by a body length on that track. It’s just not done.
It is not humanly possible to beat them by a body length. I don’t care what they say. It’s not a racial issue, it’s not a competition against any particular person or nation, it’s just what I see and what I know.
“That’s not real, you can’t beat that group. Kyle Chalmers, David Popovici, Jack Alexy, you can’t beat those guys by a full length in the 100m freestyle. That’s not humanly possible, okay, so don’t sell it to me, don’t force it on me. It’s not real.”
Chinada (China Anti-Doping): The New York Times wants to “weaken our competitive ability”
A statement issued on Wednesday
“The main goal (of the New York Times) is to disrupt the order of the Paris Olympic swimming competition, affect the psychology of Chinese athletes and weaken their competitive ability. This is extremely unfair and immoral.”
Pan Zhanli: “It hasn’t affected me at all”
The 100m gold medallist speaks through a translator after his world-record individual victory
“I did everything I could to get the best result. In the end I was very surprised to break the world record and it was a magical moment.”
“Last year I had 29 tests and never had a positive result. From May to July I had 21 tests and none of them came back positive. Today we received a second test.”
“I don’t think there was any impact (on me) because all the tests were done according to normal procedure… So it’s not a big problem.”
Simona Quadarella: We need answers
Italian long-distance swimmer after it emerged last week that two Chinese swimmers tested positive for a banned steroid in 2022
“I think we need some answers to this situation,” he said. “We really don’t have confidence in the situation, in the testing system, in the testing system in other parts of the world.”
Caleb Dressel: Do I have confidence in the case? “No, not really”
Seven-time U.S. gold medalist speaks ahead of start of Games
Asked if he had confidence in the doping case against China, Dressel said: “No, not really. I don’t think we’ve been given enough evidence to support how this case was handled.”
