Chinese Olympic swimmer says doping testers are part of a ‘European and American’ plot

A world-record holding Chinese swimmer has accused doping testers at the Olympic Games of being part of a “European and American” plot to unsettle China’s team.

Qin Haiyang, who holds the record for the men’s 200m breaststroke and is seen as one of Adam Peaty’s main obstacles to claim a three-peat in the 100m, claimed on social media that the vigorous testing of Chinese athletes at the Paris Games was an attempt to disturb their rhythm.

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China’s swimmers had been tested on average five to seven times each in their first 10 days in France, and at all times of day and night, the national camp has claimed.

Qin said: “This proves that the European and American teams feel threatened by the performances of the Chinese team in recent years.

“Some tricks aim to disrupt our preparation rhythm and destroy our psychological defence. But we are not afraid.

“When you have a clear conscience, you do not fear slander. The team is currently preparing at the established pace. My teammates and I will resist the pressure and win more medals to silence the sceptics.”

The Chinese swimming team has faced heightened levels of testing since a joint investigation in April by the New York Times and the German television channel ARD revealed that 23 Chinese athletes, including Qin, had been allowed to compete in the Tokyo Games despite testing positive for a banned drug.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) had accepted China’s explanation at the time that the kitchen at their hotel had been contaminated but promised in the wake of the scandal to increase the level of testing of Chinese athletes competing in Paris.

On 15 July, China’s national team nutritionist, Yu Liang, wrote on social media, in a post that has since been deleted, that “each athlete has been tested 5-7 times on average”.

He wrote: “The tests come early in the morning before we’re even awake, during midday rest periods, forcing us to rest on hotel lobby sofas, and even late at night, keeping us up past midnight.”

Another of Qin’s chief rivals in the pool, the Australian swimmer Zac Stubblety-Cook, has suggested that he is considering protesting at poolside about the presence of the Chinese competitor in Paris.

He said: “I think potentially we could see protests in other events as well. Personally I think I will make a decision probably on the day.

“But you know at the end of the day, I’m a clean athlete and I’m trying to abide by those rules and I just hope my competitors do the same.”

The World Aquatics Integrity Unit published data on its testing regime this week which showed that between 1 January and their arrival in France, the 31 swimmers who will represent China had each been tested at least 10 times by World Aquatics, and that on average each swimmer had been tested 13 times.

They said: “World Aquatics conducted a total of 418 tests through this program. All Chinese swimmers have been tested out-of-competition at least eight times by World Aquatics, independently of any other anti-doping organisation and using a Wada-accredited laboratory based in Europe.

“Including tests conducted by other anti-doping organisations, Chinese swimmers have been tested on average 21 times since 1 January 2024. Australian swimmers have been tested an average of four times in the same period, and USA swimmers an average of six times.”