When Michael Phelps was brutally silenced by China in doping war

Michael Phelps may be the greatest Olympian of all time, but that did not stop China from silencing the former swimmer in a heated doping war.

The 2024 Paris Olympics saw some brilliant performances, some of them in the pool, where the great Michael Phelps once dominated.

However, perhaps the most head competition has come away from the playing field. China and former United States Olympic swimming star Michael Phelps traded barbs about the doping scandal that has rocked the athletic world.

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Michael Phelps is as familiar as anyone when it comes to the rules and regulations that come with Olympic competition. He has been as outspoken as anyone with regard to enforcing standards that apply to all athletes in a given sport.

Swim Swam quoted Phelps as saying, “I subjected myself to do more testing, blood and urine, weekly. Why? For the reason that I could say I’m not cheating and I am clean and here are the results.”

Doubling down on that stance, Phelps has called for stricter penalties for anyone who doesn’t comply with Olympic doping rules. The New York Post quoted him as saying, “If you test positive, you should never be allowed to come back and compete again, cut and dry. I believe (in) one and done.”

According to the USA Today, Michael Phelps told United States Congress in June 2024, “If we continue to let this slide any farther, the Olympic Games might not even be there.”

Phelps’ comments to Congress this summer have been in response to a controversy that reportedly allowed Chinese swimmers to compete in the 2020 Olympics even after they had tested positive for a banned substance before competition. The New York Times and German media outlet ARD brought this to light in the spring of 2024.

Phelps seemed to be dubious of Chinese swimmer Pan Zhanle during the 2024 Olympics, who topped his own world record en route to winning the 100 meter freestyle gold medal. According to SCMP’s website, Phelps said he “couldn’t understand” how Zhanle was able to swim 0.4 seconds faster than the previous world record he set.

Despite the skepticism, Phelps later said that it wasn’t fair to cast Zhanle’s achievements in a shadow of doubt. SCMP’s website quoted Phelps as saying, “Pan’s swim was an unbelievable time that somebody did and until we know the facts, you can’t point fingers.”

Phelps would also say, “You can’t do that to someone. I get their country has a microscope on them, and a few of those athletes are under scrutiny because they have tested positive in previous Olympic Games.” For the record, Zhanle was not one of the swimmers who tested positive in 2020.

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Despite Phelps taking measured steps to recognize Zhanle’s accomplishments, Chinese athletes have been speaking out against aspersions that their performances are tainted. Qin Haiyang is a member of the men’s 4x100 meter relay team. He posted, “Any doubt is just a joke. Stress only maker us stronger,” according to the BBC’s website.

According to the BBC, Pan Zhanle told Chinese media that he felt the entire Chinese swimming team was being “looked down on” heading into the 2024 Olympics because of the scandal that came to light about the 2020 Olympics. He also accused Australian swimmer Kyle Chalmers for refusing to acknowledge him when he tried to say hello.

Zhang Yufei is a Chinese swimmer who won six medals in the 2024 Olympics, and she was defiant in defense of her country. “Why should Chinese swimmers be questioned when they swim fast? Why did no one dare to question Michael Phelps when he got eight gold medals?” she asked, according to the BBC.

Former Australian swimmer Brett Hawke also wondered aloud whether Pan Zhanle beat the competition fairly and squarely during the 2024 Olympics. He posted on social media, “It is not humanly possible to beat that field by a body length. I don’t care what you say. This is not a race thing, this is not against any one particular person or nation, this is just what I see and what I know.”

Another former Australian swimmer, Dennis Cotterell, has denounced Hawke’s claims. According to Yahoo Sports, Cotterell spent the last year and a half coaching Pan Zhanle. Cotterell told The Age, “Brett’s specialty is the 50m, this is the 100m. Biochemists, real researchers will analyze Pan, like they do every Olympic champion, because they want to see what the best are doing.”

Perhaps in part to the doping scandal dating back to 2020, Chinese swimmers have reportedly been tested almost twice as much as any other country’s contingent. “What they have been subjected to,” Cotterell said, “in their efforts to be clean, Australians wouldn’t tolerate it.”

The World Doping Agency, the Chinese Doping Agency, and the United States Doping Agency have been in a vicious argument for the last several months that only seems to be getting more contentious. Reuters has reported that this friction might lead the United States to lose the right to host the 2028 Summer Games.

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