The 100-meter freestyle swimming race was eagerly awaited by fans of this sport. Its winner becomes the fastest swimmer in the world, which is no small feat.
To the glory of him and the joy of millions of Romanians, David Popovici, in addition to the gold medal at 200 meters, also secured the bronze in the flagship event of the swimming competition at the Paris Olympics.
First place was taken by Chinese swimmer Pan Zhanle, who shattered the world record, finishing the race in 46 seconds and 40 hundredths.
Australian Chalmers and Romanian Popovici came in second and third places with a difference of 1 second and 8 hundredths, respectively 1 second and 9 hundredths behind the winner, which is huge in swimming at this distance.
Zhanle had a body length ahead of the pursuers when he reached the end of the pool.
Two top swimmers from China were found to have doped in 2022, but the accusations of using banned substances were mysteriously withdrawn, as reported by New York Times reporters on July 30, a day before the final in which David Popovici competed.
Chinese Swimmers Doped with Burgers
Chinese anti-doping authorities conducted an investigation that failed to describe how swimmers took a very potent anabolic steroid, concluding that it entered the athletes' bodies through contaminated burgers consumed at a restaurant in Beijing, as stated in the article published by the American newspaper.
At least three times in recent years, Chinese authorities have acquitted local swimmers, blaming contaminated food. The decisions have caused dissatisfaction among anti-doping experts, as reported by the New York Times journalists.
The situation has led to criticism of the WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) accused of failing to truly eliminate cheaters from high-performance sports.
At least one expert from the agency disagreed with the explanations given by the Chinese representatives, but WADA did not appeal Beijing's decision and did not punish the swimmers.
Furthermore, ITA (International Testing Agency), established after the doping scandal in Russia, stated that WADA should have appealed the decision of the Chinese representatives, but this did not happen.
Zhanle Swam 2 Seconds Slower in Qualifications than in the Final
Pan Zhanle's performance raised many questions as the Chinese swimmer broke the world record by 4 tenths of a second, which is practically impossible without chemical assistance according to specialists, especially since in the qualifying heats, Zhanle achieved a weak time of 48 seconds and 40 hundredths, managing to advance to the competition's semifinals in seventh place, swimming 2 seconds slower in the qualifiers than in the final.
For example, David Popovici achieved 47.92 in the qualifiers and 47.49 in the final.
"What happened in this race is not real. You can't win like that. You can't beat swimmers like Kyle Chalmers, David Popovici, or Jack Alexy by a body length in the 100-meter freestyle. It's not possible from a human perspective... What happened is not real," commented Brett Hawke, an Australian swimming coach with three decades of experience.
The expert's comments were widely quoted by the Romanian and international press, highlighting the extraordinary performance of the Chinese swimmer.
In April of this year, an investigation by the New York Times drew attention to the fact that 23 Chinese swimmers were allowed to compete at the Tokyo 2021 Olympics despite testing positive for the banned doping substance trimetazidine. Some of the swimmers won gold medals. Their names were not made public as they were not accused of any illegal practices.
USA Wants to Cut WADA Funding
At that time, Chinese representatives justified not sanctioning the athletes by claiming that they were victims of contaminated food they consumed at a hotel.
However, the situation has created significant tensions in the USA, where the American Congress wants to cut WADA funding if the agency fails to dispel suspicions of doping in sports.
The USA contributes $3.6 million annually to the WADA budget, the largest among all participating countries.
WADA has announced that it is investigating the case of the two Chinese swimmers found to have doped but allowed to compete on the grounds that burgers were to blame.
In this context, discussions surrounding the "performance" of Chinese swimmer Pan Zhanle will not go unnoticed.
This seems to be a devastating blow to clean athletes and a profound betrayal of all competitors who compete fairly and respect the rules.
Travis T. Tygart, head of the US anti-doping agency, disturbed by the lack of response from international bodies regarding the doping of Chinese swimmers
Authoritarian regimes have always seen sports as a political strategy to validate themselves, with athletes' achievements used as propaganda to showcase the absolute leader's accomplishments.
Vladimir Putin's Russia developed a state-run doping system to provide an additional advantage to athletes in the race for medals.
Russia's Machinations
Before the start of the Sochi Winter Olympics, Russia, FSB agents, the Kremlin's secret service, along with representatives of the local anti-doping agency, secretly replaced Russian athletes' urine samples to avoid detection of their use of banned substances.
This scandal led to the suspension of several coaches, officials, and athletes from the country.
Due to the state-level doping system in place, Russia was banned from being represented at the Olympic Games, with athletes competing without national insignia.
Following Putin's invasion of Ukraine, sports authorities decided to ban Russian athletes from international competitions as well.
People celebrate Olympic champions, while we were replacing urine samples. Can you imagine how Olympic sport is organized?
Grigory Rodchenkov, a Russian doctor, testimony about the state doping scandal at the 2014 Winter Olympics
There have been doping scandals in sports involving many athletes from Western countries, but they violated the rules individually, being solely responsible for their actions.
Many of them have had their medals and records stripped, receiving bans from participating in competitions. The case of Simona Halep and her fight to prove her innocence is exemplary in this regard, with the Romanian state having no involvement whatsoever.
Sporting competitions have no value if there is no equal opportunity among participants.
The differentiation between them should only be based on individual or team skills, respecting the rules of the game.
Suspicions regarding China's maneuvers to protect doped athletes overshadow their performances.
David Popovici's bronze medal becomes even more valuable as the challenge to the illogical performance of Pan Zhanle intensifies, prompting officials to take action and shed light on this case.