China selects 11 swimmers linked to doping scandal for 2024 Olympic squad
China has included 11 swimmers on its 2024 Olympic swim team who had previously tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine. The Chinese Swimming Association announced a total roster of 31 swimmers. These swimmers were among 23 athletes who tested positive for trimetazidine, a drug banned since 2014 and commonly used to increase blood flow to the heart, before the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Chinese authorities later cleared these athletes, citing accidental exposure through contaminated food. Half of them competed in Tokyo.
China named 11 swimmers who previously tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs to its 2024 Olympic swim team.
The Chinese Swimming Association revealed its roster of 31 swimmers Tuesday, including 11 who tested positive for the drug trimetazidine seven months before the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
Trimetazidine is typically used to treat heart-related conditions and works by increasing blood flow to the heart, according to NBC Olympics. The drug has been banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency since 2014.
Twenty-three Chinese athletes tested positive for the drug ahead of the Tokyo Olympics but were cleared by Chinese authorities, which said the athletes were accidentally exposed to the drug through contaminated food. Half of the athletes went on to compete in Tokyo after the WADA accepted China’s explanation.
The positive tests were not made public at the time and were only revealed earlier this year.
The WADA defended its decision to allow the Chinese athletes to compete in an April statement.
“It was not possible for WADA scientists or investigators to conduct their inquiries on the ground in China given the extreme restrictions in place due to a COVID-related lockdown,” it said. “WADA ultimately concluded that it was not in a position to disprove the possibility that contamination was the source of TMZ.”
China’s team for the 2024 Olympics includes Tokyo gold medalists Zhang Yufei and Wang Shun, both of whom tested positive for trimetazidine.
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“Clean play is supposed to be at the forefront of the Olympics, and I think it’s really disappointing we’re in this situation three years after this all happened,” seven-time Olympic gold medalist Katie Ledecky said in a recent interview after the positive tests came to light. “It’s tough to accept as an athlete, and now also to feel what it’s like to be an athlete who won a [silver] medal behind some athletes who tested positive — I now know what that feels like. I’ve seen it before with other athletes and always felt for those athletes.”
The WADA has “invited an independent prosecutor” to conduct a review of its handling of the case.
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