Paris 2024: Chinese swimmers hit back at doping claims

SHAH ALAM - Chinese swimmer Pan Zhanle, 19, recently set a new world record in the 100-metre freestyle at the Paris Olympics, clocking a time of 46.60 seconds.

This remarkable achievement saw him surpass renowned athletes such as Michael Phelps and Katie Ledecky.

However, Pan's victory has been met with criticism, including from Australian coach Brett Hawke, who questioned the legitimacy of his performance.

According to a report by London-based Chinese news outlet China Minutes, Hawke suggested that Pan's feat was "not humanly possible."

Before the race, some Chinese swimmers, including Zhang Yufei addressed the media about the persistent assumptions that they use performance-enhancing drugs.

These suspicions have led to an unusually high number of doping tests for Chinese athletes compared to their international counterparts.

In the Paris Olympics, each of the 31 Chinese swimmers underwent an average of 21 doping tests, which is four times the average number of tests conducted on American swimmers and significantly higher than those for Australian athletes, according to China Minutes.

During the press conference, Zhang Yufei, a teammate of Pan Zhanle who also competed in the Paris Olympics, stressed that the doping tests, which confirmed that none of the Chinese athletes had used drugs, should validate their victories.

Bronze medallists Team China China's Wan Letian, China's Tang Qianting, China's Zhang Yufei and China's Yang Junxuan pose after the podium of the women's 4x100m medley relay swimming event during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Paris La Defense Arena in Nanterre, west of Paris, on August 4, 2024. (Photo by AFP)

"As for whether he used drugs or not," said Zhang, who recently won a bronze medal in a butterfly event, "the doping test can give a clear indication. So, why are Chinese athletes questioned when they swim so fast?"

"I believe that yesterday and the week before entering the village, he hasn't stopped taking doping tests.

As to why he swims so fast, only he and his coach would know," Zhang sai during the press conference on Aug 1.

Zhang further compared Pan's situation with that of great swimmers like Phelps, who won eight gold medals, and Ledecky, who dominated long-distance events from 2012 to 2024, questioning why these athletes were never subject to similar scrutiny.