Gold medallists Team China, Pan Zhanle of China, Sun Jiajun of China, Qin Haiyan of China and Xu Jiayu of China pose after the men’s 4x100m medley relay final of swimming during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Paris La Defense Arena in Nanterre, west of Paris, on August 4, 2024. (Photo by Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP)
Pan Zhanle and strongman Zhang Yufei ignored the intense scrutiny over a doping controversy that engulfed the team before the Olympics and led China to 12 medals at the Paris Games.
They won two gold medals, three silver medals and seven bronze medals, more than the total of nine they won in Tokyo.
They once again fell behind regular pace-makers the United States and Australia.
The team arrived in Paris under a cloud of uncertainty after The New York Times reported in April that 23 Chinese swimmers had tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine (TMZ) ahead of the Tokyo Games.
China claims this is due to food contamination, an explanation accepted by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
But the scandal has cast a shadow over their preparations, with the US anti-doping agency angering China’s anti-doping agency by accusing WADA of covering up the facts of the incident.
Read: Pan Zhanle wins gold medal, Chinese swimming fans hit back at doping allegations
Zhang, a butterfly ace who has been on the Olympic stage for 10 years and won 10 medals, including five bronze medals in Paris, was reportedly one of 23 athletes and admitted she found it stressful in France.
“I’ve been competing really well with friends from different countries, and now I’m going to the Olympics and I’m really worried that my best friends will look at me with suspicion and not want to compete with me,” she said.
“I’m worried that the French think that Chinese athletes don’t deserve to be on this stage.”
In fact, the fans at La Défense Arena respectfully greeted the Chinese players with applause.
Zhang, who again moderated the team, urged doubters to look into the details of the incident.
“Each of us was tested 20 to 30 times over a two-month period, an average of three to four times a week,” she said, noting that no one tested positive.
‘Expert’
World Aquatics data released just days before the Olympics showed Chinese swimmers in Paris, including 11 of the 23 involved in the doping scandal, had been tested at least 10 times since the start of the year.
Including tests conducted by other organisations, Chinese swimmers were tested an average of 21 times, far more than any other country.
But it wasn’t enough to silence the critics when Pan clocked a staggering 46.40 seconds to break her own world record in the 100m freestyle.
A 19-year-old swimmer who was not among the 23 swimmers named in the report called the race a “magic moment”, while Australian silver medallist Kyle Chalmers expressed confidence the race was clean.
Read: China’s swimming team to step up drug testing ahead of Paris Olympics
But the manner of the victory angered Brett Hawk, the former Olympian and swimming coach who trained Brazil’s Cesar Cielo, the first man to break 47 seconds.
“I’ve studied speed. I understand it. I’m an expert on it and it’s my job,” he said on Instagram.
“You can’t beat those guys by one body length in the 100m freestyle. It’s humanly impossible.”
Other Chinese athletes on the podium included Xu Jiayu, who won silver in the men’s 100m backstroke, and Wang Shun, who took bronze in the 200m medley behind French hero Leon Marchand.
Tang Qianting won the silver medal in the women’s 100m breaststroke.
Three-time Olympic gold medallist Adam Peaty of Britain could not believe China’s success in winning the gold medal in the 4x100m medley, saying on Sunday “if you don’t win fairly there’s no point in winning.”
But Peaty aimed his criticism at anti-doping agencies: “To the people who have to do their jobs: wake up and do your jobs.”
Read: Paris Olympics: China aims for eighth straight win in diving
Several Chinese athletes missed out on the event, but most notably Qin Haiyang, who swept the breaststroke triple crown and broke the 200m world record at the 2023 World Championships.
Qin, one of 23 athletes to compete, reportedly collapsed in the high-pressure atmosphere, falling to seventh place in the 100m final and failing to advance to the 200m final.
In China, their performance was praised by most internet users and state media.
But fans were upset at the number of tests players were required to take in the early hours of the morning, and suggested it was affecting their performance.
“Chinese athletes are not being given a level playing field,” one person said, in a comment that reflected the general tone of the reaction.
State media blasted the team, saying allegations continued to haunt it despite it being cleared by WADA.
“China’s swimming team has been slandered by some Western media outlets under pressure from the United States,” the China Daily reported.
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“This has caused serious disruption to the team’s training sessions and races.”
Check out Inquirer Sports’ special coverage of the Paris 2024 Olympics.
