Mack Horton, the retired Australian swimmer who campaigned for clean sport throughout his career and famously called out rival Sun Yang, says he is infuriated by the latest Chinese doping scandal and believes Australian athletes have been let down by a “failed system”.
The sporting world is reeling from news that 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for a banned substance, trimetazidine (TMZ), before the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
The athletes were allowed to compete at the Olympics after not being provisionally suspended. China’s swimming team won three gold medals, in races involving Australians.
“This news is infuriating for the entire sporting community,” Horton told this masthead.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accepted China’s explanation that athletes’ samples were contaminated by food served in a kitchen at team accommodation during a camp.
The investigation found there were small amounts of TMZ in the samples and would not have amounted to significant improvements …