After the revelation in April that 23 elite Chinese swimmers had tested positive for a banned substance months before the last Summer Olympic Games, China and the global antidoping authority vigorously defended their decisions to allow them to compete in the Games in 2021.
The swimmers, they insisted, had not been doping.
In both instances, China claimed that the swimmers had unwittingly ingested the banned substances, an explanation viewed with considerable skepticism by some antidoping experts.
The three Chinese athletes revealed to have tested positive earlier, in 2016 and 2017, were no ordinary swimmers: Two would go on to win gold medals at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021, and the third is now a world-record holder.
All three are expected to contend for medals again at the Paris Games in July.
Organizations:
Games, The New York Times, Doping Agency, Tokyo Olympic Games, Paris Games
Locations:
China