“Leon! Leon!” chanted the 71,500-strong crowd that gathered for the closing ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics. French swimmer Leon Marchand, who entered Paris 2024 as a promising swimming prodigy, emerged as a star. Dressed in a classic black suit and white shirt, the suave Frenchman took the Olympic cauldron from the Tuileries Gardens to Stade de France.

While the crowd cheered every athlete who attended the closing ceremony, the Stade de France had saved the loudest one for Marchand. They chanted his name just as they had done when the 22-year-old won four gold medals and a bronze. Finally, the most decorated male athlete of Paris 2024 joined six others and extinguished the Olympic flame. Yet, as the closing ceremony ended, the doping controversy around swimming still lingers.

Those who have followed every swimming event may remember the controversy. One of the six athletes who joined Leon Marchand in extinguishing the flame represented China. Notably, swimmers from the nation that took second place in the medal standing at the Paris Olympics were also at the center of the doping debate.

A New York Times expose revealed that 23 Chinese swimmers who had failed drug testing competed in the Tokyo Olympics. The swimming and sports worlds questioned CHINADA and WADA’s decision to slip things under the wraps. As 11 of 23 swimmers competed in the Paris Olympics, they couldn’t shake off the doping allegation.

However, swimmers like Leon Marchand and China’s Pan Zhanle got caught in the storm, simply for being too good. While Marchand reminded people of Michael Phelps, the greatest Olympian in history, Zhanle created history with his 100m freestyle double record. Yet, none could escape controversy.

How Leon Marchand and Pan Zhanle rose above doubters

When Pan Zhanle defeated the competition by a full body length, doping accusations immediately followed. Although he was not one of the 23 athletes who failed doping tests ahead of Tokyo 2020, he couldn’t outswim the allegations. Focus shifted from his 46.40s world and Olympic record until Zhanle clarified that he had been tested before and after the 100m swim.

He also revealed getting tested 29 times in the last year. Meanwhile, Leon Marchand became an overnight national hero after double golds in the 200m breaststroke and 200m fly. Yet, the moment news of him missing a scheduled drug test ahead of an event surfaced, he too faced accusations. It wasn’t until it became clear that the authorities messed up that he escaped the allegations.

However, WADA was far more transparent as the doping debate raged throughout the Paris Olympics. They were far more open about the information on testing athletes underwent before and during the games. In the coming years, the world’s foremost authority in anti-doping hopes to regain the public’s trust. However, we can only hope that Leon Marchand and the athletes who extinguished also succeeded in extinguishing the flames of doubt.