Chinese Swimmer Accused Of Being Drugs Cheat

I read that China was really strict about drug testing these days, that they insist of frequent tests of their swimmers and that the other year a couple of swimmers didn't show up for testing and were instantly kicked off the team (something about them putting the training pool as their place of contact).

It seems when women do something extraordinary in sport people instantly assume drugs/secretly a man.

No it is more that they had a history.

Perhaps, but it just reminds me of Semenya and Bolt coming onto the scene a couple of years back. Bolt was cheered and congratulated, Semenya was ridiculed and subjected to gender testing. I don't remember anyone even mentioning drug testing for Bolt.

But, I didn't get much into the swimming tbh.

I'm afraid that suspicion is one of those lose / lose situations. If plenty of people are caught, then it is said that the drugs problem is rife. If nobody, or very few people, are caught then the suspicion is that the drugs abusers are getting away with it by nefarious means.

But it has to be said that WADA (World Anti Doping Agency) is a very effective organisation in my opinion, and has done a lot to make testing highly effective.

Out of competition testing means that any athlete thinking of abusing drugs could get a visit from WADA at any time, any day.

Testing procedures, both direct and indirect build up a file on every athlete which can reveal training or performance patterns which are inconsistent and may indicate abuse without actually identifying any specific substance. Such inconsistencies can prompt WADA to target an athlete for more intensive screening or investigation, applying verrrrrry stringent, detailed and sophisticated testing protocols, and if a substance IS present, it is highly likely that they'll find it.

The days when the East Germans got away with mass substance abuse are over, and the Chinese have been named and shamed enough to get the message across that they need to be whiter than white.

Of course, some will still try it on, hoping they will slip through the net, but that net is tightening all the time. The probability of getting caught is greater now than ever before..... and increasing.

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Just my opinion, to accuse someone of possibly using banned substances in an olympic event is a very serious allegation that could shadow their careers forever so before someone, anyone wants to point a finger, they need some evidence and proof.