PARIS: American swimming great Katie Ledecky says she hopes athletes will be “competing clean” at the Paris Olympics amid a row over a doping case involving Chinese swimmers.

The New York Times and German broadcaster ARD reported in April that 23 Chinese swimmers were allowed to compete at the Tokyo Olympics despite testing positive earlier in the year for heart medication trimetazidine, a drug banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

Eleven of the swimmers named in the reports were selected in China’s Olympic team at Paris.

None of the swimmers were suspended or sanctioned after WADA accepted the conclusion of Chinese authorities that the case was caused by food contamination at a hotel where they had stayed.

WADA’s stance has been strongly criticised by a number of leading swimmers, including seven-time gold medallist Ledecky, who said previously that her faith in the anti-doping system was at an “all-time low”.

Ledecky said there were issues still to be resolved when asked at a USA swim team press conference if she felt races at the 2024 Paris Games would be fair.

“I hope everyone here is going to be competing clean this week. But what really matters also is, were they training clean?” Ledecky told reporters on Wednesday.

“So really, hopefully, that’s been the case. Hopefully, there’s been even testing around the world. And I think everyone’s heard what the athletes think. They want transparency. They want further answers to the questions that still remain.”

Ledecky said that the anti-doping process was not an issue that athletes should have to concern themselves with.

“At this point, we’re here to race. We’re going to race whoever’s in the lanes next to us and we’re not the ones paid to do the testing,” she said. “So we hope that the people that are, follow their own rules. And that applies now and into the future. And we want to see some change for the future so that you don’t have to ask us that question.”

Ledecky said it was important to remember why athletes are tested outside of competition time.

“I think if you’re trying to get an advantage, you can do it any time. So if people are training with things in their system that shouldn’t be in their system, then they’re getting an advantage,” she said.

“That’s why we’re tested frequently, randomly. Our whereabouts, you know, we have to keep them up to date constantly when we’re training, when we’re here, all that. So we’re following all those rules. Again, all that we ask is that those rules are being applied fairly and consistently worldwide.”

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has backed WADA after a report said it had not mishandled the Chinese case.

The support from the IOC came after strongly worded attacks from Travis Tygart, the head of the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), who accused the body of covering up the Chinese cases.

An independent investigation ruled this month that WADA did not mishandle or show favouritism while a World Aquatics audit concluded there was no mismanagement or cover-up by the governing body.

A spokesperson of China’s Foreign Ministry said China trusts the conclusion reached by the independent Swiss prosecutor and supports WADA’s governance.

Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2024