- Pan Zhanle once again crushed her rivals in the pool at the Paris Olympics
- China takes gold with spectacular 45.92m win in 4x100m freestyle relay
- Zhanle, 20, also easily won the 100-meter freestyle with a world record time.
Chinese swimmer Pan Zhanle has produced another unforgettable moment at the Paris Olympics, as speculation continues over whether the superstar is actually a clean athlete.
Zhanle, who comfortably beat Australia’s Kyle Chalmers in the 100m freestyle final, again caught the eye after clocking the fastest 100m relay split of all time when competing for his nation at the La Defense Arena.
Following Zhanle’s impressive split time of 45.92, China won the gold medal in the 4x100m freestyle relay in another strong statement from the 20-year-old.
Her electric performance comes as rival international competitors speak out against China’s controversial swimming team, which arrived at the Paris Games under a cloud of doping.
Many have pointed to the fact that 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine (TMZ) in late 2020 and early 2021 ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.
China’s anti-doping body concluded at the time that all the swimmers had eaten contaminated food and blamed Australian beef; and although Zhanle was not one of the 23 swimming stars under scrutiny, suspicions persist given his superhuman performances in Paris.
British star Adam Peaty questioned the “honour” of the Chinese swimmers, and leading Australian swimming coach Brett Hawke said Zhanle’s effort to win the 100m freestyle by almost a length over Chalmers was not humanly possible for a clean athlete.
“I’ve studied speed. I understand it. I’m an expert at it, that’s what I do,” Hawke posted on Instagram.
Chinese swimmer Pan Zhanle has had another dramatic moment at the Paris Olympics, as speculation continues to rife over whether he is actually a clean athlete.
Zhanle again attracted attention after recording the fastest 100m relay of all time while competing in the 4x100m freestyle final at La Defense Arena.
The Chinese star comfortably beat Australia’s Kyle Chalmers (left) and Romania’s David Popovici (right) in the 100m freestyle final at the Games.
“You can’t beat those guys by a full body length in the 100-meter freestyle. That’s not humanly possible.”
Former Australian world champion turned media personality James Magnussen was amazed by Zhanle’s swimming relay race.
“My whole career I was trying to get under 47 seconds,” he said on the Matty and Missile podcast.
‘We all were. That was the goal. I never thought I would ever see someone swim 45 seconds (over 100m) in my life.
‘For most average people, that’s one lap. Pan makes two laps. It doesn’t slow down.
“He keeps that pace going all the time. It’s crazy what he does.”
Chalmers has remained humble in the face of defeat, saying this week that he will have to “train even harder now to be competitive” ahead of the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.