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       China’s Swimmers Tested Positive. What Happens to Their Medals?

       The short answer may be nothing. The world’s top doping regulator said there was “no credible evidence” to take further action.

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       China’s 4x200-meter freestyle relay team after winning the gold medal at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. The two swimmers on the left, Yang Junxuan and Zhang Yufei, were among 23 Chinese swimmers who tested positive for a banned drug months before the Games. Credit...Tom Pennington/Getty Images

       By Andrew Das, Joe Ward and Matthew Cullen

       April 21, 2024, 12:05 a.m. ET

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       Whenever a suspicion of doping arises in an Olympics, attention can shift quickly from the athletes who won gold, silver and bronze medals to the ones who missed out.

       On Saturday, The New York Times published an investigation into an unreported case in which 23 top Chinese swimmers tested positive for a powerful banned drug in 2021, only months before the Tokyo Olympics. The swimmers — who made up about half of the Chinese swimming team at those Games — were cleared by China’s antidoping authorities and the World Anti-Doping Agency and allowed to compete.

       The episode has not only alarmed experts in the antidoping community, but also raised other questions about athletes who tested positive, and what comes next: Which athletes? Which races?

       And what about the medals they won in them?

       For now, the answer — both for the Chinese athletes and the dozens of swimmers who finished behind them, on and off the medals stand — is that nothing has changed.

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       By comparing the names of the 23 swimmers who tested positive with results from the Games, The Times identified five events in which Chinese swimmers who had tested positive for a banned substance won medals:

       Women’s 100-meter butterfly The third day of the Tokyo Games opened with the first of four medals for Zhang Yufei, a silver. Torri Huske of the United States was fourth, missing out on the first Olympic medal of her career by one-hundredth of a second.

       Rank

       Time

       Margaret Mac Neil, Canada

       55.59

       G

       Zhang Yufei, China

       55.64

       S

       Emma Mckeon, Australia

       55.72

       B

       Torri Huske, United States

       55.73

       4

       Louise Hansson, Sweden

       56.22

       5

       Marie Wattel, France

       56.27

       6

       Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden

       56.91

       7

       Anastasiya Shkurdai, Belarus

       57.05

       8

       Rank

       Time

       Margaret Mac Neil, Canada

       55.59

       G

       Zhang Yufei, China

       55.64

       S

       Emma Mckeon, Australia

       55.72

       B

       Torri Huske, United States

       55.73

       4

       Louise Hansson, Sweden

       56.22

       5

       Marie Wattel, France

       56.27

       6

       Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden

       56.91

       7

       Anastasiya Shkurdai, Belarus

       57.05

       8

       Source: Tokyo 2020

       China’s Swimmers Tested Positive. What Happens to Their Medals? - The New York Times

       Rank

       Time

       Zhang Yufei, China

       2:03.86

       G

       Regan Smith, United States

       2:05.30

       S

       Hali Flickinger, United States

       2:05.65

       B

       Boglarka Kapas, Hungary

       2:06.53

       4

       Svetlana Chimrova, Russian Olympic Comm.

       2:07.70

       5

       Yu Liyan, China

       2:07.85

       6

       Alys Margaret Thomas, Britain

       2:07.90

       7

       Brianna Throssell, Austrailia

       2:09.48

       8

       Rank

       Time

       Zhang Yufei, China

       2:03.86

       G

       Regan Smith, United States

       2:05.30

       S

       Hali Flickinger, United States

       2:05.65

       B

       Boglarka Kapas, Hungary

       2:06.53

       4

       Svetlana Chimrova, Russian O.C.

       2:07.70

       5

       Yu Liyan, China

       2:07.85

       6

       Alys Margaret Thomas, Britain

       2:07.90

       7

       Brianna Throssell, Austrailia

       2:09.48

       8

       Source: Tokyo 2020

       Rank

       Time

       China

       7:40.33

       G

       United States

       7:40.73

       S

       Australia

       7:41.29

       B

       Canada

       7:43.77

       4

       Russian Olympic Committee

       7:52.15

       5

       Germany

       7:53.89

       6

       Hungary

       7:56.62

       7

       France

       7:58.15

       8

       Rank

       Time

       China

       7:40.33

       G

       United States

       7:40.73

       S

       Australia

       7:41.29

       B

       Canada

       7:43.77

       4

       Russian Olympic Committee

       7:52.15

       5

       Germany

       7:53.89

       6

       Hungary

       7:56.62

       7

       France

       7:58.15

       8

       Source: Tokyo 2020

       China’s Swimmers Tested Positive. What Happens to Their Medals? - The New York Times

       Rank

       Time

       Wang Shun, China

       1:55.00

       G

       Duncan Scott, Britain

       1:55.28

       S

       Jeremy Desplanches, Switzerland

       1:56.17

       B

       Daiya Seto, Japan

       1:56.22

       4

       Michael Andrew, United States

       1:57.31

       5

       Kosuke Hagino, Japan

       1:57.49

       6

       Laszlo Cseh, Hungary

       1:57.68

       7

       Lewis Clareburt, New Zealand

       1:57.70

       8

       Rank

       Time

       Wang Shun, China

       1:55.00

       G

       Duncan Scott, Britain

       1:55.28

       S

       Jeremy Desplanches, Switzerland

       1:56.17

       B

       Daiya Seto, Japan

       1:56.22

       4

       Michael Andrew, United States

       1:57.31

       5

       Kosuke Hagino, Japan

       1:57.49

       6

       Laszlo Cseh, Hungary

       1:57.68

       7

       Lewis Clareburt, New Zealand

       1:57.70

       8

       Source: Tokyo 2020

       China’s Swimmers Tested Positive. What Happens to Their Medals? - The New York Times

       Rank

       Time

       Britain

       3:37.58

       G

       China

       3:38.86

       S

       Australia

       3:38.95

       B

       Italy

       3:39.28

       4

       United States

       3:40.58

       5

       Netherlands

       3:41.25

       6

       Russian Olympic Committee

       3:42.45

       7

       Israel

       3:44.77

       8

       Rank

       Time

       Britain

       3:37.58

       G

       China

       3:38.86

       S

       Australia

       3:38.95

       B

       Italy

       3:39.28

       4

       United States

       3:40.58

       5

       Netherlands

       3:41.25

       6

       Russian Olympic Committee

       3:42.45

       7

       Israel

       3:44.77

       8

       Source: Tokyo 2020

       China’s Swimmers Tested Positive. What Happens to Their Medals? - The New York Times

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       Andrew Das is an editor for the International section of The Times, focusing primarily on the ways sports intersect with power, money, business, media and culture. More about Andrew Das

       Joe Ward is the sports graphics editor. His work explores the finer elements of athletic performance. His work has taken him to eight Olympic Games.

       More about Joe Ward

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