Chinese swimmers to be most tested Olympians in 2024, officials say

Illustration: Liu Xiangya/GT

Chinese swimmers are now the most tested Olympians ahead of the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics, according to statistics released Tuesday by World Aquatics. Amid continued smearing and false accusations from the United States, the Chinese team remains open and confident, experts said while warning against politicizing the sport.

A total of 2,145 anti-doping tests have been conducted by World Aquatics on Olympic competitors since January 1, 2024, World Aquatics said in a press release, as cited by Xinhua news agency.

The international federation, recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to administer international aquatic sports competitions, formerly known as FINA, stressed that Chinese swimmers were the most tested during this period since “the 31 Chinese swimmers competing in Paris were each tested at least 10 times by World Aquatics, with an average of 13 tests per swimmer.”

Chinese swimmers were tested 418 times during that period, he said, adding that all Chinese swimmers were tested out-of-competition at least eight times by World Aquatics, independently of any other anti-doping organization and using a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)-accredited laboratory based in Europe.

Including tests conducted by other anti-doping organizations, Chinese swimmers have been tested an average of 21 times since January 1, 2024.

Earlier on July 18, Yu Liang, the nutritionist for the Chinese national swimming team, said on social media that Chinese swimmers have faced “unprecedented levels of doping control,” undergoing nearly 200 tests administered by the International Testing Agency (ITA) since arriving in France.

“Including tests conducted by other anti-doping organizations, swimming athletes competing in Paris were tested an average of 3.4 times, with 4,774 tests conducted in total. This is the highest number of tests ever conducted by World Aquatics prior to an Olympic Games,” the federation said.

In April, the United States began to stir up controversy when it announced that athletes had tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine (TMZ) at a 2021 Chinese national competition. The China Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA) reported positive tests for 23 swimmers in January of that year. Of those 23 swimmers, 11 are set to compete in Paris.

The positive results were then investigated and the cause was determined to be contaminated food consumed at the national competition. CHINADA concluded that the positive tests were not due to fault or negligence on the part of the athletes and that the cases were not pursued as anti-doping rule violations. Both WADA and World Aquatics have accepted CHINADA’s statement. In July, an anti-doping investigation concluded that World Aquatics had been “transparent and collaborative” in its review of the contamination case, according to Xinhua News Agency.

Despite repeated investigations and the resulting findings, the US has continued to hype and sensationalize the case and seek to smear Chinese swimmers, so much so that WADA founder and chief Dick Pound openly expressed his disappointment and disgust with the US’s deliberate lies and distortions in May, according to earlier reports.

“What’s missing from USADA’s leadership is a willingness to work toward solutions – just endless, biased criticism,” Pound said.

Echoing the remarks of a senior WADA official, Chinese experts stressed that the US’s continued, exaggerated and groundless doping accusations against China are highly politicized, instrumentalized and lack credibility.

“The US investigative agencies have a bad reputation for double standards and imbalance, which is even more evident in cases involving China,” Li Haidong, a professor at China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Wednesday. “This so-called investigation reflects their attempt to unfairly hinder China in all areas where its influence is growing.”

This kind of behavior is “typically American,” he said, stressing that the international community will not allow such intentions to succeed.

According to World Aquatics, Australian swimmers were tested an average of four times over the same period, and American swimmers an average of six times, significantly fewer than Chinese athletes.

“The number of tests (on Chinese swimmers) is indeed excessive, but we can’t do anything about it – it’s all part of the plan given to us from above,” an unnamed ITA official was quoted as saying by Yu.

“I can’t imagine the level of cooperation you and the Chinese athletes have shown. If it had been any other team, they would have complained loudly and filed complaints everywhere,” the official said.

“The frequent testing of Chinese athletes shows that we have enough confidence to undergo testing, and our swimming results are obtained legitimately and in accordance with regulations,” Li said. “This demonstrates that China attaches great importance to the compliance of athletes participating in sporting events and also shows an open attitude toward countries that have questions.”

Observers stressed that the international community should be vigilant against those who politicize sporting events and return sporting events to their original purpose, rather than allowing malicious forces to weaponize and politicize sports, thereby tarnishing the reputation of athletes and the image of other countries.

The swimming events at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will begin on Saturday, the day after the opening ceremony.