“The tests were done under all the regulations. I don’t think it influenced my performance,” said Chinese swimmer Pan Zhanle after breaking his own world record in the men’s 100m freestyle with a winning time of 46.40 seconds at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Pan Zhanle’s victory, more than a second ahead of the field, was a thrilling triumph.

Australian Kyle Chalmers took silver with a time of 47.48 seconds, while American Jack Alexy placed seventh at 47.96 seconds. Despite the doping allegations clouding his win, Pan Zhanle’s post-race comments showed no hard feelings toward Chalmers, with whom he shared a friendly exchange after the semifinals.

Pan Zhanle expressed his disgust at Aussie’s behavior before the Paris Olympics

Amid the tension in the swimming world at the 2024 Olympics, Pan Zhanle remarked to Chinese media poolside during an interview with News.com.au on August 1, 2024, “But today, we beat all of them and broke the world record in such a difficult pool. It was an extraordinary performance and a great start for the Chinese team.” He expressed satisfaction with his performance and pride in bringing a gold medal to his country despite the discouragement and ignorance of his rivals. Amidst the pride, he candidly mentioned that his rivals completely ignored him during the trial days leading up to the race.

He explained a situation, stating, “Before, after we finished the first day … I greeted Chalmers. He ignored me. This also included the US team’s Jack Alexy,” highlighting their behavior towards him, which made him angry. This statement indicates a feeling of being snubbed, as he suggested that even when he tried to be polite, they did not reciprocate. Pan Zhanle further expressed his anger, saying, “When we trained, our coach was on the deck, and someone did a flip turn and splashed water directly on the coach. This behaviour seemed a bit disrespectful to us,” indicating that he found it discourteous.

Due to these unexpected encounters during the trials, Pan Zhanle and Kyle Chalmers exchanged a slightly awkward handshake on the podium while receiving their medals. However, the controversy over Chinese athletes testing positive for steroids did not impact Zhanle’s performance or the Australians’ opinion about the young swimmer making history in the pool. When asked by Chinese media to share his thoughts on Pan’s win, Chalmers confidently said, “For him to produce a 4.40 and break the world record in the Olympic final is incredible,” further adding that he worked hard to challenge for that gold medal. So, will this controversy overshadow Zhanle’s achievements and affect future competition?

Doping controversy vs. Pan Zhanle’s career: Will it impact the future competition?

On Tuesday, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) announced that two Chinese athletes tested positive due to food contamination. The question remains how this will affect the swimming career of the young Chinese athlete, Pan Zhanle? Approaching his 20th birthday, he has been a significant figure on the international stage since winning gold at the Asian Games in 2022. Given the effort to break the previous world record and the latest Chinese doping scandal, questions will inevitably arise about Pan Zhanle‘s performance.

However, the twist is that these positive tests were not released, leading to controversy over the transparency of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Leading athletes such as Katie Ledecky and Caeleb Dressel have stated they do not trust the anti-doping establishment. Additionally, it is important to note that Pan Zhanle was not among the 23 athletes who tested positive before Tokyo. Chalmers and Popovici both confirmed their belief that Zhanle achieved his world record and Olympic medal by fair and honest means.

Further, Zhanle’s statement in Swimming World Magazine, “From May to July, it has been 21 tests, and it has never been positive. I don’t think there’s any impact because the testing has been done within the timeframe. I think it’s normal procedure. Nothing big,” is a sign of relief. With all this in mind, can the anti-doping system regain the trust of athletes and the public?