Top Chinese Swimmers Tested Positive for Banned Drug, Then Won Olympic Gold

Asia Pacific|Top Chinese Swimmers Tested Positive for Banned Drug, Then Won Olympic Gold

Twenty-three apical Chinese swimmers tested affirmative for the aforesaid almighty banned substance 7 months earlier the Tokyo Olympic Games successful 2021 but were allowed to flight nationalist scrutiny and proceed to vie aft apical Chinese officials secretly cleared them of doping and the planetary authorization charged with policing drugs successful sports chose not to intervene.

Several of the athletes who tested affirmative — including astir fractional of the swimming squad that China sent to the Tokyo Games — went connected to triumph medals, including 3 golds. Many inactive vie for China and several, including the two-time golden medalist Zhang Yufei, are expected to contend for medals again astatine this year’s Summer Games successful Paris.

China acknowledged the affirmative tests successful a study by its antidoping regulator, saying the swimmers had ingested the banned substance unwittingly and successful tiny amounts, and that nary enactment against them was warranted.

But an introspection by The New York Times recovered that the antecedently unreported occurrence sharply divided the antidoping world, wherever China’s grounds has agelong been a flashpoint. American officials and different experts said the swimmers should person been suspended oregon publically identified pending further investigation, and they suggested that the nonaccomplishment to bash truthful rested with Chinese sports officials; swimming’s planetary governing body, World Aquatics; and the World Anti-Doping Agency, the planetary authorization that oversees nationalist drug-testing programs.

Those authorities decided not to enactment contempt an email speech betwixt a Chinese antidoping authoritative and a apical satellite swimming authoritative appearing to bespeak that a usurpation whitethorn person taken spot and would, astatine the least, person to beryllium publically acknowledged.

Even aft different nationalist and planetary antidoping officials repeatedly provided the planetary regulator, known arsenic WADA, with quality suggesting a cover-up and doping by Chinese swimmers, the bureau chose not to effort to clasp the athletes accountable, asserting “a deficiency of immoderate credible evidence” to situation China’s mentation of events. WADA defended its determination not to instrumentality action, calling the disapproval unsubstantiated.