Chinese sports official urges caution over supplements after swimming doping saga
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Gold medallists Xu Jiayu, Qin Haiyang, Sun Jiajun and Pan Zhanle of China celebrate as they pose with their medals after winning the 4x100 medley relay at the Paris Olympics.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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HONG KONG – A top Chinese sports official has called for caution in the management of food, drugs and nutritional supplements to ensure there are no “slip-ups”, after China’s swimming team came under heavy scrutiny at the Paris Olympics over the country’s doping record.
Liu Guoyong, deputy director of the General Administration of Sport of China, said that anti-doping efforts were crucial and urged Chinese athletes to “earn respect through strength and integrity”, China Daily reported on Aug 21.
The swim team have faced heightened scrutiny since revelations in April that 23 swimmers had tested positive for a banned heart medication in 2021, but were permitted to compete in the Tokyo Olympics that year.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) accepted the findings of a China Anti-Doping Agency investigation that the results were due to contamination from a hotel kitchen, and an independent review backed its handling of the case.
“We must be cautious, especially when it comes to the management of food, medicine and nutritional products,” Liu said during a Chinese Paralympians conference ahead of the Paris Paralympic Games from Aug 28 to Sept 8.
“We have to make sure any accidental consumption incidents are nipped in the bud, and there is no room for slip-ups.”
He also said athletes may have to deal with problems beyond their performances and technical preparations, with “unique challenges, including disruptions and interferences from Western powers at the upcoming Paris Games”.
In an example to demonstrate that China’s swimmers are “clean”, Pan Zhanle, who won the 100 metres freestyle gold in Paris in a world record, said he underwent more than 20 doping tests from May to July, before the Games.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, meanwhile, hailed the Chinese Olympic delegation for maintaining high standards of “morality, style and cleanliness” in their pursuit of gold medals at the Paris Olympics.
“On the field, (Chinese Olympians) obeyed the rules, respected the opponents... maintained good race discipline and civilised etiquette,” he said in his meeting with the athletes at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
Besides the doping issue, there has also been increased government efforts to address the “extreme” fan culture in sports after supporters used social media to attack and spread rumours about the country’s Olympians.
The authorities have actively addressed disruptive and aggressive fan behaviour. In early August, Beijing police arrested a woman suspected of defaming a table tennis player and her coach.
Pan, meanwhile, has disbanded his fan group page on the social media platform Weibo and told state broadcaster CCTV that he prefers to maintain a low profile.
REUTERS
