Text: Qingyan Xiaosheng A
Editor|Qingyan Xiaosheng a
Sources: All of the information stated in this article is based on reliable sources, and is detailed at the end of the article
As the only swimming giant who has won two Olympic gold medals, Sun Yang was banned for 8 years.
In the face of the imminent Paris Olympics, the emergence of a "2021 Tokyo Olympics drug test report" has made some retired old European and American cadres start to put on a show again.
What is the situation? What does this report say? How do we respond to this? Follow the editor and take a look!
context
Before talking about the "drug test report dispute", let's first introduce the origin of the "anti-Sun Yang Alliance".
Speaking of Sun Yang, in recent years, there have been mostly negative comments on his "anti-drug supervision", but let's not forget Sun Yang's status in our national swimming world and in the international swimming world.
Sun Yang has won gold medals in two consecutive Olympic Games, and this strength is not covered! In the middle and long distance events, he is simply a hegemon, breaking several world records for him, and holding many records.
He is not only the world record holder in the men's 1500m freestyle, but also the Olympic record holder in the men's 400m freestyle.
What's even better is that Sun Yang is the only player in the world who has won the Olympic Games and the World Championships Grand Slam championships in the men's 200-meter freestyle, men's 400-meter freestyle and men's 1500-meter freestyle!
He is also the only Asian swimmer who has won the gold medal in the men's 200m freestyle Olympic Games and the World Championships, and the only swimmer in Asia to win the MVP of the World Championships.
Sun Yang's achievements and status in the swimming world are real, and this controversy cannot be shaken. He is still one of the representative figures of our Chinese swimming, and no one can deny this.
But then again, Sun Yang's career has not been smooth sailing, and he has also encountered some controversies and turmoil, such as the anti-inspection incident or something. These things did have some impact on his image and reputation.
And Sun Yang's matter is really full of twists and turns! Let's review the ins and outs of the whole incident.
On the evening of September 4, 2018, three staff members from the International Doping Control Administration Company came to the door to give Sun Yang an out-of-competition anti-doping test.
As a result, the two sides broke up unhappily, with the IDTM saying that Sun Yang "violently resisted the inspection" and smashed the sample bottle, while Sun Yang insisted that he was fully cooperative, but the inspectors did not operate in a standardized manner.
This matter is in an uproar all of a sudden.
Later, FINA held a hearing, which lasted 13 hours, and finally ruled that the IDTM's doping test was invalid and that Sun Yang had not violated the rules.
However, WADA was not satisfied and felt that there was a problem with FINA's ruling, so he appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
This appeal has dragged on for a long time.
During this period, Sun Yang also participated in the World Championships and won the championship, but was boycotted by other athletes because of this. He himself is quite tough, demanding that the hearing be open and transparent and prove his innocence.
Finally, on February 28, 2020, under the urging of public opinion from many athletes from Australia Horton and other countries, CAS gave a final ruling:
WADA's appeal was successful, and Sun Yang violated the rules and was banned for 8 years. At this moment, Sun Yang's career has been hit hard.
During this period, the "Anti-Sun Yang Alliance" was established, and it was also glorified by the Western media as an "anti-doping" Justice League. And this alliance has recently reappeared in the public eye.
Status quo rumors
Recently, an incident of "23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for drugs" has once again focused the world's attention on Chinese swimmers at the important moment when the Paris Olympics are imminent.
In response to this incident, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and FINA have made a clear judgment that the athletes unknowingly ingested the contaminated food and therefore they are not at fault.
This conclusion is authoritative and based on exhaustive investigation and review.
However, some Western media have carried out crazy slander on this matter, trying to discredit the image of the Chinese swimming team.
At the same time, some "opinion leaders" who responded to their call also spoke on social platforms:
Forever ban Chinese swimmers!
They are so powerful, I don't know if they have broken the net, or if they have "fish memories". Completely ignoring the report of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
We have also seen some athletes, such as Horton, Peaty, Lily Kim and Guy, among others, attack the Chinese swimming team through the media. Their rhetoric is biased and aggressive, lacking not only factual basis, but also basic respect for athletes.
Horton, who has retired from the army but was praised by Western media on the podium for protesting against Sun Yang, blamed the World Anti-Doping Agency's testing system, claiming it undermined the dignity of the sport and the rights of athletes.
British frog king Peaty was overpowered by China's frog king Qin Haiyang last year, but this year's form is rebounding and he is hoping to beat his opponent at the Paris Olympics. On social media, Pitti criticized WADA for being too lenient with China, questioning its transparency and confidentiality.
American star Lillik Kim is known for her outspokenness, calling for applause for a boycott of Sun Yang's award ceremony and resenting China's rising breaststroke star Tang Qianting. Lily Kim angrily said that the innocent athlete was deeply heartbroken by this.
Peggy's teammate Guy was even more vehement, demanding a ban from the Chinese swimming team and the return of Scott's gold medal. Guy even slandered Wang Shun, who defeated Scott at the Tokyo Olympics, for doping.
And how did we respond to this?
I know it
At the regular press conference of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on April 22, 2024, in response to reports that Chinese swimmers tested positive for drugs before the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games, spokesman Wang Wenbin made it clear that these reports are false information and untrue reports.
He explained in detail the ins and outs of the incident and emphasized the Chinese government's firm stance on the issue of doping.
Wang Wenbin pointed out that the incident had been thoroughly investigated by the China Anti-Doping Center in 2021, and the results showed that the positive test was due to the athlete in question ingesting contaminated food without knowing it.
The Chinese swimmers involved were not at fault or negligent and therefore did not constitute a doping violation. This finding was also endorsed by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
He further stressed that the Chinese government has always maintained a firm position of "zero tolerance" on the issue of doping.
We in China strictly abide by the World Anti-Doping Code and resolutely safeguard the physical and mental health of athletes and fair competition in sports competitions. We actively participate in the global anti-doping struggle and make positive contributions to the global anti-doping cause.
Looking through the information, the live video of Sun Yang's "violent resistance to inspection" was also exposed.
Xinhua News Agency once released a video that lasted for more than 6 minutes, revealing the truth of the incident for us, but it did not make much splash.
The video provides a detailed review of the entire process of Sun Yang's "violent resistance to inspection" incident, and exposes a 10-second short video that appeared at the hearing.
This short video records the scene where Sun Yang signed with the inspector on the night of the incident. In the video, we can clearly see that Sun Yang cooperated with the inspection, while the other party's inspector admitted that his test was not compliant and signed the agreement.
This fact shows that the so-called "violent resistance" does not exist.
Not long after the video was released, Sun Yang reposted the video on Weibo and expressed his opinion.
"I have not released the full video, video, pictures, and the testimony of the chief prosecutor and the blood examiner does not match the facts," he wrote. I firmly believe that lies cannot defeat the truth. ”
This passage fully demonstrates Sun Yang's firm stance and pursuit of truth.
However, despite the video as evidence, Sun Yang still faces a suspension. This begs the question, in the world of sports, can truth and justice be fully reflected?
For Sun Yang, this incident is undoubtedly a huge blow. His career has been severely affected by this, but we are still looking forward to seeing Chinese athletes in the Paris Olympics.
Afterword
The "positive drug test" incident has sparked concern and discussion about anti-doping testing procedures. How to ensure the effective implementation of anti-doping work while protecting the rights and interests of athletes is an important issue before us.
As for whether Sun Yang will participate in the 2024 Paris Olympics, although some well-known media people have revealed the news, we still have to wait for the official news to come out.
However, whether he participates in the end or not, Sun Yang's status and influence in the swimming world must be there, and no one can ignore it. This is our Sun Yang, a real legend in the swimming world!
At the same time, we should also realize that sports competition is not only a competition between athletes, but also an important platform for friendly exchanges between countries. We should treat every competition with an open, inclusive and friendly attitude, and jointly promote the healthy development of sports.
In short, both the Chinese government and the Chinese people firmly oppose doping in any form, and we will continue to work with other countries to jointly safeguard the fairness and justice of sports competitions and make positive contributions to building a community with a shared future for mankind.
Resources:
The original article is based on the World Knowledge Magazine, published on April 23, 2024, about "Nearly half of the swimmers tested positive for drugs before the Tokyo Olympics?
The original article is based on Lightning News and was released on November 28, 2019, about "So it was, the video of Sun Yang's "violent resistance to inspection" incident was exposed.
The original article was published on April 21, 2024, with reference to Xinhuanet, about "foreign media reported that a number of Chinese swimmers tested positive, and the World Anti-Doping Agency called the report 'misleading and potentially defamatory'".