The incredible effort, which saw him finish the race in 46.40 seconds, meant a first-ever medal for China in the 100m freestyle,The Daily Mailreported on Thursday (August 1).
“Look I’m angry for a number of reasons. Look my friends are the fastest swimmers in history from Rowdy Gaines to Alex Popov to Gary Hall Jr, Anthony Irvin, and all the way up to King Kyle Chalmers.
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Image credits:Pan Zhanle/Weibo
“I know these people intimately, I’ve studied them for 30 years. I’ve studied this sport. I’ve studied speed. I understand it. I’m an expert in it, that’s what I do okay.
“This is not a race thing, this is not against any one particular person or nation, this is just what I see and what I know.
Image credits:Eurosport
“That’s not humanly possible okay so don’t sell it to me, don’t shove it down my throat. It’s not real.”
The 49-year-old retired athlete posted another message to his Instagram story that read: “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.”
He did not mention doping directly, but China’s team has been under increased scrutiny since revelations that 23 swimmers tested positive for a banned substance before the TokyoOlympicsthree years ago,The Daily Mailreported.
Pan was reportedly not in the group of 23 that was allowed to compete in Tokyo after world anti-doping authorities accepted China’s explanation the swimmers had eaten contaminated food at a team hotel.
After a lengthy investigation into the previously undisclosed incident, the Chinese authorities were unable to determine exactly how the swimmers ingested the drug, a powerful anabolic steroid, but concluded that they had most likely done so unwittingly when they atehamburgersat a restaurant in Beijing,The New York Timesreported.
Pan slammed dopping claims, stating that he had been tested more than 20 times over the past few months but remained cautious when asked if the accusations had affected him.
Image credits:Ahmed Marzouk
He told reporters, as perThe Daily Mail: “The testing was essentially done under all the regulations, so I don’t feel there was any difference or influence.”
Australia’s silver medallist Kyle Chalmers finished 1.08 seconds behind Pan, while David Popovici finished a further 0.01 seconds behind for the bronze, as perThe Mail.
Kyle told reporters: “I do everything I possibly can to win the race and trust everyone’s doing the same as I am, staying true to the integrity of sport.
“I trust that … [Pan] deserves that gold medal.”
The 19-year-old Chinese athlete reportedly “demolished” Australian swimmer Kyle Chalmers
Image credits:Guardian Sport
Romania’s David Popovici, who won the 200m gold, was also sure Pan was clean, telling reporters upon winning his bronze medal: “I think we can go even faster.
“There are people now alive and who are swimming who can do it.
“It’s just a matter of putting it together and doing it at the right moment. And I think it’s very possible, even faster.
“This is the only motivation for us. I mean, we can’t be mad, we can only congratulate him. This is what sports is.
“Everyone is innocent until proven guilty. That’s all I have to say.”
Nevertheless, Pan later called out the silver medalist and Team USA’s Jack Alexy forunsportsmanlike behavior.
Australia’s silver medallist Kyle Chalmers finished 1.08 seconds behind Pan
Image credits:CGTN Sports Scene
“I felt he looked down on us a little.”
The 26-year-old Olympian continued: “And then my focus went to my teammates and my own racing.
“We had a laugh together at warm down last night – but no issues from my end.”
After revelations that swimmers Tang Muhan and He Junyi tested positive in 2022 for dopping, Chinese authorities told global antidoping regulators that only trace amounts of a banned steroid had been detected and that those levels were consistent with contamination, not doping,The New York Timesreported on Tuesday.
Pan slammed dopping claims, stating that he had been tested more than 20 times over the past few months
Image credits:panzhanle
Investigators and at least one expert for the World Anti-Doping Agency, known as WADA, were reportedly not convinced of the contamination explanation in the most recent case.
Nevertheless, WADA chose not to appeal China’s decision not to impose bans on the swimmers. Another anti-doping agency, the International Testing Agency (ITA), also reviewed the case.
Image credits:hawkebr
At least one ITA official believed that swimming’s global governing body should appeal the Chinese decision to clear the athletes, an insider toldThe Times. But the swimming organization, known as World Aquatics, did not do so.
Two anonymous sources told the American newspaper that they decided to disclose the information because they believed that the tests were covered up and that the world should know about them.
China’s anti-doping authority, known as Chinada, did not address the newly disclosed case. However, Chinada toldThe Timesthat it “has always maintained a scientific, rigorous and objective attitude, adhered to a firm stance of ‘zero tolerance’ for doping, and has always carried out its anti-doping work in strict accordance” with global rules.
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The agency added: “WADA is generally concerned about the number of cases that have been closed without sanction when it is not possible to challenge the contamination theory.”
World Aquatics reportedly said it “would not be appropriate to comment” on the case in detail, but it added that “it never received any recommendation from the ITA to appeal the case.”
Use of thedrugdetected in the 2022 tests — methandienone, an anabolic steroid — carries the harshest penalties, including a four-year ban, as perThe Times.
The drug is often referred to as Dianabol or D-Bol and is popular among swimmers and sprinters seeking an edge because of how it helps build lean muscle.
Two elite Chinese Swimmers, Tang Muhan and He Junyi, tested positive in 2022 for a banned drug
Tang and He were training in 2022 at a national team facility in Beijing. The Chinese told WADA that the two of them went out together for a day in early October, stopping at a restaurant for Coke, hamburgers, and fries.
Days later, they were subjected to routine drug testing, which came back positive when the results were reported the following month,The Timesreported.
After the positive tests in 2022, Chinese authorities initially issued provisional suspensions against the two swimmers as the WADA code requires.
However, China didn’t publicly disclose its findings of food contamination, as required under WADA rules.
“You are there to win, not to make friends,” a reader commented
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