Revelations that 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for a banned drug before the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, have shocked and angered Australian swimmers, with calls for medals to stripped.

Tokyo

The Chinese 4x200m relay team's world record victory at the Tokyo Olympics has sparked controversy following allegations of doping. The New York Times reported that Yufei Zhang, a member of the gold medal-winning team, along with 22 other Chinese swimmers, tested positive for the heart medication trimetazidine months before the Tokyo Olympics. Chinese authorities attributed the positive results to cross-contamination, claiming the substance was present in the kitchen of a hotel where a teammate stayed. 

This situation has led to discussions about the fairness of the competition and calls for a reassessment of the Olympic medal allocation. Notably, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) did not take action against the swimmers, despite allegations of doping violations. Travis Tigert, head of America's anti-doping agency, expressed his dissatisfaction with WADA's handling of the case, highlighting the lack of provisional suspension, disqualification, or public announcement regarding the Chinese swimmers.

WADA refuted Tigert's accusations as "outrageous, completely false, and defamatory," and threatened legal action against him. The dispute casts a shadow on the integrity of the Olympics and raises concerns about the consistency of doping regulations enforcement. Australian swimming has faced similar controversies, notably with swimmer Shaina Jack's two-year suspension over cross-contamination and Sun Yang's four-year ban due to trimetazidine.

As the swimming community looks forward to the Paris Olympics, the ongoing debate highlights the necessity of transparent and fair anti-doping practices to preserve the spirit of the Olympics.



Sporting world reacts to Chinese swimmers doping scandal

It was a world record that put the Chinese 4x200m relay team on top of the podium ahead of the USA and Australia. But did the gold medalists have some extra help? Every time you race you just hope you're racing people that are in the same boat as you and they've worked as hard as they can to get to that position. The New York Times claims a member of the relay team, Yufei Zhang, is one of 23 Chinese swimmers who tested positive to a heart medication, trimetazidine, months before Tokyo. Chinese testers declared it cross-contamination, claiming the drug was present in the kitchen of a hotel with a teammate. So is a medal rejig on the cards? I'd end up with two gold, two silver, wouldn't have the full set anymore but an upgrade for Norway is a good thing. But the World Anti-Doping Agency, WADA, didn't intervene. Their failure to follow the rules could haunt the clean athletes from your country in Australia and my country in the United States for the rest of their lives. Travis Tigert runs America's anti-doping agency. He's furious that test results were kept quiet and that the Chinese swimmers were allowed to compete. What do you make of WADA's actions here? No provisional suspension, no disqualification, no announcement. It's clear that they swept this under the rug. WADA says it had no evidence to disprove the Chinese explanation and calls Tigert's remarks outrageous, completely false and defamatory. They're threatening to bring in the lawyers based on what you've said. That's great, maybe we'll get to the truth in court. In a statement, Swimming Australia says we are making our own inquiries with World Aquatics. Australian frustration would be understandable. It was cross-contamination that saw Shaina Jack banned from the pool for two years. Her lawyer was Tim Fuller. Yeah, I think it took a long time for Shaina to put that behind her. And trimetazidine is the same drug at the heart of Chinese swimmer Sun Yang's four-year ban that's about to come to an end. If these claims are true, it's just disappointing, I think, for the Olympics, which is pure. With Paris less than 100 days away. Daniel Sutton for 10 News First.

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