Beijing described this Monday, April 22 as “false” information the news reporting 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for doping before the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, thirteen of whom participated in the competition three years ago, according to revelations from press this weekend which shocked the sports world.
2 mins
With our correspondent in Beijing, Stéphane Lagarde
If the China do not digest the scoop from the ARD and New York Times, is that the incriminated swimmers are hailed here as true heroes. Several of them won medals in Tokyo, including gold for Zhang Yufei in the 200m butterfly and 4x200m freestyle, for Wang Shun in the 200m medley, and Yang Junxuan in the 4x200m freestyle. And some are still in the running for the swimming events this summer at Paris.
According to the investigation by German radio and the American daily, the Chinese swimmers took trimetazidine (TMZ), a banned substance which improves performance. A report drawn up by the Chinese Anti-Doping Agency then concluded that there was food contamination, which the World Anti-Doping Agency had accepted, recalled this Monday the spokesperson for Chinese diplomacy in Beijing, Wang Wenbin.
“ The information concerned is false and is not factual, he assures. After a thorough and detailed investigation into this incident by the Chinese Anti-Doping Center in 2021, it was determined that the athletes involved had ingested contaminated medications without their knowledge. The Chinese swimmers involved were neither at fault nor negligent, and their behavior did not constitute an anti-doping rule violation. »
The Chinese authorities also claim to have always defended “ fair competition during sporting events ”, and to have “ actively contributed to the global fight against doping “. They forget to recall, however, that star swimmer Sun Yang also tested positive at TMZ and was suspended for three months in 2014. Three months before the Paris Games, this affair aroused a conflict between WADA and the American anti-doping agency, which accuses him of collusion with Beijing.