HOME > AFP-JIJI PRESS NEWS JOURNAL > Article
Eleven swimmers in doping scandal named in China Olympic team
China will send 11 swimmers implicated in a major doping scandal to next month's Paris Olympics, after the country named its squad for the Games.
Twenty-three Chinese swimmers tested positive for the prescription heart drug trimetazidine (TMZ) -- which can enhance performance -- ahead of the pandemic-delayed 2021 Tokyo Games, it emerged in April.
They were not sanctioned after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accepted the argument of Chinese authorities that the positive tests were caused by contaminated food.
Several of the swimmers went on to win medals, including gold, in Tokyo months later.
China named its swimming squad for Paris on Tuesday. Among them were 11 of the 23 who were named in news reports in April that broke the story about the mass positive tests.
The squad includes butterfly specialist Zhang Yufei, who won two golds in Japan, as well as another gold medallist in Wang Shun.
Breaststroke multiple world champion and 200m record-holder Qin Haiyang is another who was named in the reports and will go to Paris.
In April, The New York Times and German broadcaster ARD reported that 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for TMZ at a domestic competition in late 2020 and early 2021.
It was determined by Chinese anti-doping authorities that they ingested the substance unwittingly from tainted food at their hotel and no action against them was warranted.
WADA's decision not to punish the swimmers and allow them to carry on competing provoked intense criticism, particularly from the United States.
There was also anger at how the case emerged, via media reports rather than official channels.
The head of the US national anti-doping agency Travis Tygart called it a potential cover-up, an allegation WADA and China have strongly denied.
WADA has said it will send a compliance audit team to China to assess the current state of the country's anti-doping programme, an investigation that China has said it will cooperate with.
Asked Wednesday about when that compliance team might go to China, Beijing said only that it consistently adhered to the firm stance of zero tolerance for doping.
China has resolutely safeguarded the physical and mental health of athletes, safeguarded fair competition in sports competitions, and has made positive contributions to the unified global fight against doping, foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said.
- Scrutiny in Paris -
This month The New York Times reported that Qin, Wang and another swimmer among the 23 had also tested positive for a different banned substance in separate cases years earlier.
The Times said the three tested positive for clenbuterol in 2016 and 2017.
Chinese authorities argued they had ingested the substance inadvertently through contaminated meat and no disciplinary action was taken.
WADA said the trio were found to have levels of clenbuterol which were between six and 50 times lower than the minimum reporting level currently used by the agency.
In a statement to AFP, China's anti-doping body hit back this week, calling the latest Times story a violation of media ethics and morals.
Along with powerhouses the United States and Australia, China will expect to be among the swimming medals when the Paris Olympics begin on July 26.
China's swimmers will however be under intense added scrutiny.
Speaking on the eve of the US Olympic trials, which started Saturday, the 100m breaststroke world record-holder Lilly King called the most recent revelations involving Chinese swimmers disappointing and frustrating.
You know, when we put everything on the line... everything that we do to compete with a level playing field, it's extremely frustrating to not have faith that others are doing the same thing, she said.
Australia's head swimming coach Rohan Taylor urged his team to focus on themselves.
We have to trust that WADA and (governing body) World Aquatics are going to continue to investigate and that we are aligned with a clean sport, he said.
(2024/06/19 17:45)
Click Here for Japanese TranslationAFP-JIJI PRESS NEWS JOURNAL
- 06/27 18:42 Some like it not-- LA bars demolition of Marilyn Monroe home
- 06/27 18:40 Australia swim queen Campbell retires after missing out on Paris
- 06/27 18:37 Denmark seeks to take the wind out of foreign flags
- 06/27 18:35 Morgan omitted from USA women's Olympics football squad
- 06/27 17:14 US jails Honduran ex-president for 45 years on drug charges
- 06/27 17:12 Tens of thousands collected for 'honest' Dutch homeless man
- 06/26 20:12 Ukrainians risk lives to flee draft via icy Romanian pass
- 06/26 20:10 S. Korea administrative robot defunct after apparent suicide
- 06/26 18:08 US warns Israel over Lebanon as UN sounds alarm on Gaza
- 06/26 18:06 Kenya's Ruto vows 'full' response after deadly anti-tax protests
- 06/26 16:51 Phelps, Schmitt call for WADA reform in US hearing
- 06/26 16:50 Russia to block dozens of EU media outlets in 'retaliatory' move
- 06/25 18:59 Egypt tomb find may shed light on ancient diseases-- ministry
- 06/25 18:58 Gaza officials say Israeli strike kills 10 relatives of Hamas chief
- 06/25 17:55 Probe highlights 'attack on press freedom' in Gaza war
- 06/25 17:45 Hungary's Varga set for surgery on 'multiple' facial fractures
- 06/25 17:01 Families of October 7 attack victims sue UNRWA over 'helping' Hamas
- 06/25 16:57 Infamous Bangladesh hangman dies after turning writer, TikTok star
- 06/24 20:13 EU says Apple's App Store breaches bloc's digital rules
- 06/24 18:27 Euro 2024 security bulked after pitch invaders aim for Ronaldo selfies
- 06/24 18:25 Israel PM says 'intense' phase of Gaza war nearing end
- 06/24 18:14 Deaths from Indian toxic alcohol rise to more than 50
- 06/24 18:08 Blue Jays outfielder Martinez suspended 80 games for drugs violation
- 06/24 18:04 Gaza health officials say 24 killed in Israeli strikes
- 06/21 18:10 Mines, unexploded ordnance a daily menace for Afghanistan's children
- 06/21 18:06 England wary of 'bold' former boss Jones in Japan Test
- 06/21 18:03 Chinese sailors wield knives, axe in disputed sea clash with Philippines
- 06/21 17:13 Steve Cooper named manager of Premier League Leicester City
- 06/21 17:12 Actor Donald Sutherland dead at age 88
- 06/21 17:11 Lakers agree to coaching deal with TV analyst Redick-- reports
- 06/20 19:07 Brussels refuses to host Belgium-Israel match over security fears
- 06/20 19:03 US sprinter Knighton cleared for trials despite positive test
- 06/20 17:19 Philippines says Chinese coast guard boarded navy vessels in South China Sea
- 06/20 17:12 Loved ones search for missing as hajj death toll passes 900
- 06/20 17:07 Hezbollah threatens Israel after military says Lebanon offensive ready
- 06/20 17:05 New report warns of heat danger at Paris Olympics
- 06/19 17:47 Taiwan president says island 'will not bow' to China's pressure
- 06/19 17:45 Eleven swimmers in doping scandal named in China Olympic team
- 06/19 17:42 Macron says snap France vote was 'most responsible solution'
- 06/19 16:32 New mystery monolith appears in Nevada desert
- 06/19 16:30 Celine Dion offers a portrait of resilience in vulnerable documentary
- 06/19 16:28 Chinese 'underground bankers' launder Sinaloa drug money-- US