Twenty-three Chinese swimmers tested positive for the banned drug TMZ months before the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, it has emerged. However, they were cleared to compete at the Games after the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) accepted an explanation from the Chinese authorities that the kitchen at their hotel was contaminated.
The story, which has come to light after a joint investigation by the German TV channel ARD and the New York Times, has led to widespread criticism of Wada from senior figures in anti-doping, with one calling the case “shocking” and another a “devastating stab in the back to clean athletes”.
None of this surprises me, but the older I get, the less I understand entire national governments going to extreme lengths to demonstrate perceived athletic superiority of their citizens. I guess twelve year old me felt superior when the US won all the medals in 1984 without an understanding of how ridiculous the whole thing was. Today, it makes zero sense to me.