Qin Haiyang had a rough start to his Paris Olympics journey before striking gold. The swimmer couldn’t qualify for the 200m breaststroke finals and finished 7th in the 100m breaststroke event. These were two events the swimming community touted him as the favorite in. However, in the 4x100m medley relay finals, he ended all doubts by ending Team USA’s 64-year hold on the event at the Summer Games. But his triumph was soon overshadowed by personal turmoil.

The 25-year-old even celebrated his victory on Instagram by sharing a carousel of images with his teammates. He captioned it, “We did it! Olympic champion! Any doubt is just a joke. Stress will only make us stronger🤨🤨🤨” Unfortunately, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for the Olympian. After wrapping up the Paris Summer Games, things took a crazy turn for the swimmer.

Followed by the Paris Olympics, Qin Haiyang faced marital troubles

What should’ve been a moment of joy for the swimmer turned out to be a nightmare post the Summer Games. His fiancée accused him of something severe on Weibo, posting an exposé. She stated the Olympian had cheated on her with fans, swimmers, and soliciting escorts—all this while she was pregnant. She also mentioned that all this was done while Qin was in the military.

Shortly after the allegations were made public, the swimmer’s management denied the claims. They stated this was nothing but malicious slander that had done nothing but damage his reputation. “[We are] currently at the stage of gathering evidence, and we shall report to the public security bureau if necessary,” the statement read. But this isn’t it. The Olympian’s fiancée even confessed that she suggested breaking up.

However, Qin Haiyang wasn’t too keen on that suggestion and instead decided to use their intimate videos to ask for forgiveness. If this wasn’t enough, the swimmer’s family didn’t seem to think anything was wrong with her behavior. She expected them to step in and cool things down, but they asked her to be more understanding about his situation.

But his fiancée refused to back down, playing a voice recording of him admitting to the claims about escorts on her livestream. She exclaimed, “It’s embarrassing for others to get involved. If this isn’t enough evidence, I have more. Still no apology, huh?” While things haven’t been resolved just yet, things have gotten from bad to worse for the 25-year-old.

Qin Haiyang was accused of doping after his Olympic glory

The doping scandal ahead of the Tokyo Olympics caught everyone’s eye. Around 23 Chinese swimmers returned to their nation after testing positive on their doping tests, and one of them happened to be Qin Haiyang. 11 other swimmers were about to contest at the Paris Olympics. The decision to choose them was made by a Chinese official. However, many weren’t too pleased by this decision because they had tested positive at a domestic competition in late 2020 and 2021.

In fact, when the swimmers tested positive for the heart drug trimetazidine (TMZ), the Chinese authorities claimed that this was due to food contamination. Even though the drug is known for its performance-enhancing properties, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) showed leniency by accepting the claims. But the United States weren’t happy about this, going as far as to suggest a cover-up, which was denied by all the parties involved.

But how did Qin Haiyang feel about this? The Olympian stated that everyone was tested around 200 times within their first days in Paris. The swimmer himself took 5-7 tests per day. “This proves that the European and American teams feel threatened by the performances of the Chinese team in recent years,” he confessed. The 25-year-old added that these are nothing but tactics to interfere with their psychological defense and preparations. “When you have a clear conscience, you do not fear slander. The team is currently preparing at the established pace. My teammates and I will resist the pressure and win more medals to silence the skeptics,” he told The Guardian.

The swimmers reiterated that they’re not afraid. However, he did pull back the curtains on how testing took place. They would be woken up early in the morning to take the tests. Sometimes, during midday rest periods, they would be forced to rest in the hotel lobby. The tests would often be conducted late at night, keeping them up past midnight. Throughout the controversies, the Olympian has dug his heels in the ground, claiming that these are nothing but false. Is that the end of the story, or is the truth waiting to be revealed—not just yet? Stay tuned to find out more!