BEIJING, Dec 5 — Swimmer Pan Zhanle has reportedly mocked some Western athletes for underestimating their Chinese rivals during the Paris Olympics earlier this year.
Pan, who was at the end of snide accusations from some of his rivals, reportedly said that he had to prove that any athlete is capable of winning fairly and cleanly.
“[Some foreign athletes] themselves said they didn’t care about medals … But when we [Chinese swimmers] won medals they all had a breakdown,” he was quoted saying by South China Morning Post.
In August, Pan was quoted saying he had been given the cold shoulder by some swimmers at the Paris Olympics.
Pan had smashed his own 100m freestyle world record, shaving 0.40 seconds off the previous mark he set at the World Championships in Doha in February, to humble a slew of champion rivals in Paris.
He finished a massive 1.08 seconds ahead of Australia’s Kyle Chalmers, who had to settle for silver.
Pan also downplayed his achievements, saying other athletes had also represented China.
“I am not the only one who represents China,” Pan reportedly said.
“It’s meaningless to compliment only my success – I have to use [my win] to make them recognise that anyone can win gold fairly and cleanly.”
The Chinese swim team was under intense scrutiny since revelations in April that 23 of the country’s swimmers tested positive for a banned heart medication in 2021 but were allowed to compete at the Tokyo Olympics.
The World Anti-Doping Agency accepted the findings of a Chinese investigation that the results were due to contamination from a hotel kitchen, and an independent review backed WADA’s handling of the case.
