China has selected 11 swimmers who previously tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs for its 2024 Olympic swimming team.
The Chinese Swimming Association on Tuesday released a list of 31 swimmers, including 11, who tested positive for the drug trimetazidine seven months before the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
Trimetazidine is primarily 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.
Ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, 23 Chinese athletes tested positive for drugs, but Chinese authorities said they were only accidentally exposed to drugs through contaminated food, and after WADA accepted China's explanation, half of the athletes competed in Tokyo.
The positive test result was not made public at the time and only came to light earlier this year.
In a statement in April, WADA defended its decision to allow Chinese athletes to compete.
“Due to the severe restrictions imposed by the COVID-19-related lockdown, it was not possible for WADA scientists and investigators to conduct on-site investigations in China,” the statement said. “Ultimately, WADA concluded that it was not in a position to rule out the possibility that TMZ was a contaminant source.”
China's 2024 Olympic team includes Tokyo Olympic gold medallists Zhang Yufei and Wang Shun, who both tested positive for trimetazidine.
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“Clean play should be at the forefront of the Olympics and it's just really unfortunate that we're in this situation three years after this incident,” seven-time Olympic gold medalist Katie Ledecky said in a recent interview after her positive test came to light. “It's tough to accept as an athlete and tough to feel how it feels right now as an athlete who's won an Olympic championship. [silver] “I understand now that medals are hiding behind athletes who have tested positive. I've seen other athletes do that and I always felt sorry for them.”
WADA has “engaged an independent prosecutor” to review the handling of the case.