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       Takeaways From Our Chinese Swimming Investigation

       A doping case involving Olympic swimmers has left unanswered questions and raised new concerns about the actions of a global antidoping regulator.

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       Chinese swimmers celebrating their gold medal in the women’s 4x200-meter freestyle relay at the Tokyo Olympics.Credit...Tom Pennington/Getty Images

       By Tariq Panja and Michael S. Schmidt

       April 20, 2024Updated 8:13 a.m. ET

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       In the first days of 2021, seven months before the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics, 23 of China’s best swimmers tested positive for the same banned drug at a domestic meet.

       Chinese antidoping officials investigated and declared the case an unusual mass-contamination event that could be traced to the presence of a heart medication, trimetazidine, known as TMZ, in the kitchen of a hotel where the swimmers had stayed for a New Year’s event in late December 2020 and early January 2021.

       The World Anti-Doping Agency, the global authority that oversees national drug-testing programs, looked into the episode but then accepted that theory and allowed China to keep the results secret.

       Top Chinese Swimmers Tested Positive for Banned Drug, Then Won Olympic Gold

       April 20, 2024

       All the while, the swimmers were allowed to continue racing, without suspensions or disqualifications. Some of the swimmers who provided positive samples went on to qualify for the Olympics, and to win medals — including three golds — for China. A few are favorites to win again at the Paris Olympics this year.

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       The incident would have remained in the shadows, a secret known only to a select few, had details of one of the most curious episodes in swimming not made their way out of the sealed files of the organizations trusted to keep sports fair.

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       Tariq Panja is a global sports correspondent, focusing on stories where money, geopolitics and crime intersect with the sports world. More about Tariq Panja

       Michael S. Schmidt is an investigative reporter for The Times covering Washington. His work focuses on tracking and explaining high-profile federal investigations. More about Michael S. Schmidt

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