Historical wins in the Paris Olympics bring more attention to Team China’s past Olympic doping scandal.
By: Lauren Kim
The Paris Olympics has been nothing short of a success for Team China. With numerous historical records beaten along the way, China’s total gold medal wins were tied for first place at 40 medals. Of their grand total of 91 medals, the Chinese swimming team’s 12 wins holds the Olympic record for highest number of medals won in swimming, which overcomes decades of Western dominance in the swimming world. Rather, the historic wins for the Chinese team brought back more attention to the doping scandal case, tarnishing the reputation of the Chinese national team.
More attention was drawn to the credibility of Chinese athletes as two of the swimmers competing in the relay had returned positive doping cases of TMZ, a heart medication that improves endurance, prior to the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
Michael Phelps shares, “If you test positive, you should never be allowed to come back and compete again, cut and dry.” Yet, CHINADA, the official Chinese doping agency, claimed that the athletes were unintentionally exposed to food contamination at the hotel. After investigating the athletes further , the agency found that the doses of TMZ were very low. CHINADA made additional tests on the meat that showed positive results for the drug. In July of 2021, WADA overlooked the case. Later, in 2022, two Chinese national team swimmers tested positively for an anabolic steroid, a synthetic steroid that accelerates the body’s muscle tissue, but it was concluded that it was due to meat contamination from hamburgers in a restaurant back in Beijing. WADA chose not to reveal this information of a positive doping case from the Tokyo Olympics until April of this year. Agencies like CHINADA and WADA are meant to ensure a fair ground for athletes, yet, it seems they are not doing enough to promote these values in competition. WADA releasing the news of China’s positive doping test and their rulings nearly four years after receiving it has brought much criticism has been brought to this summer’s success for China’s swim team.
The crisis of credibility comes from two major issues. The first is WADA’s unfair exclusive leniency to the Chinese athletes. Back in the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022, Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva was disqualified for positive doping results. Valieva’s drug was also a TMZ food contamination case. The skater’s grandfather’s heart medication had left traces on the cutting board which he had used to prepare a dessert for her and crush his pills. Valieva however, failed to receive as much leeway as the Chinese athletes. Valieva was punished with disqualification during the Olympics, consequently losing her medal and score for the Russian team, and a four year competition ban.
The second issue is the lack of trust that WADA presents. Even within its own regulations, there are contradictions with its rulebook versus its actions specific to this case. China hit its third transgression of overlooking positive doping tests in the country, much criticism has been directed towards WADA. WADA’s purpose is to suspend athletes when their home country’s doping agencies fail to make the right call. Hence, USADA and US politicians scrutinize how low trust in the game is the status quo. Article 2 of WADA’s Anti-Doping Rule Violations is on strict liability, the idea that anything an athlete consumes is the responsibility of the athlete. Furthermore, the USADA points out the lack of evidence that can determine whether it was truly inevitable food contamination or systematic doping, raising more concerns about the case that was kept secret.
Similarly, there is much discourse amongst the swimming community on the decision to allow positively tested athletes to compete. Many of the recognized athletes have shared how the environment is at its all-time low on trust and credibility. Michael Phelps shares, “If you test positive, you should never be allowed to come back and compete again, cut and dry.”
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