Chinese swimming team member for 2024 Olympics tested positive for doping in 2022, but was acquitted – media

Two Chinese athletes, one of whom was part of the Olympic team for the 2024 Paris Games, have tested positive for a steroid banned in 2022, the New York Times reports, citing sources.

After a lengthy investigation into the previously undisclosed incident, Chinese authorities were unable to determine exactly how the swimmers took the drug, but concluded they likely did so unintentionally while eating hamburgers at a Beijing restaurant.

The Chinese, in their explanations to world anti-doping regulators, stressed that only traces of steroids had been detected and said the levels were consistent with contamination, not doping.

The new case also involves Tang Muhan. The 20-year-old could be part of China’s 4x200m relay team at the 2024 Olympics, which will attempt to win a second consecutive gold medal on Thursday.

The China Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA) declined to answer reporters’ questions about the two cases, noting that it “always adheres to a scientific, strict and objective approach, firmly adheres to the stance of ‘zero tolerance’ towards doping, and always conducts its anti-doping work in strict accordance with global rules.”

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said it had found no evidence in the case to challenge the contamination scenario presented by the athletes and Chinada. In turn, the International Testing Agency (ITA) said it had not advised World Aquatics to appeal Chinada’s decisions.

In April, it became known that trimetazidine had been detected in doping tests on 23 Chinese athletes ahead of the Tokyo Olympics. CHINADA conducted its own investigation, after which it announced that the substance had entered the swimmers’ bodies unintentionally and in small amounts. WADA was unable to refute the Chinese version and did not punish the athletes.

New York Times

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