Six Chinese swimmers failed their doping tests during the year 2015-2016, announced the China Swimming Association (CSA) on late Thursday.
Three of the six swimmers were tested positive for Clenbuterol in out-competition tests, namely Zhao Ying, Wang Lizhuo and An Jiabao. Zhao and Wang, both from Chinese Navy, were tested last August, and An, from team Tianjin, was tested last September. None of the three has taken part in Olympic Games or World Championships.
All of them asked for tests of sample B but got the same results. They all applied for the hearings.
The Hearing Panel has conducted the separate hearings of those three swimmers on Dec. 22, 2015 and Jan. 13, 2016, and made conclusions that the positive results were mainly caused by contaminated food.
The CSA announced that the investigations and hearing procedures for those three positive cases have been finished, and it will give corresponding punishments according to the hearing and WADA CODE, and China Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA) will publish all related information and the decisions on its website after receiving the formal decision made by the CSA.
The other three swimmers were tested positive for Hydrochlorothiazide in out-competition tests in January, 2016. All gave up sample B tests but applied for hearings.
The hearings have not been held yet.
The three swimmers have been banned from all national and international competitions by CHINADA though the final decision will be made after the hearings.
CHINADA deputy director Zhao Jian told Xinhua that CHINADA has been sharing all its data with WADA through ADAMS system and that the CSA has already reported the six cases to the world swimming governing body.
"We did not cover up any facts," Zhao said, adding, "The reason for the CSA yet to make public the names and information of the three swimmers who were tested positive for Hydrochlorothiazide is that the cases are still under investigation."
The CSA also declared its zero-tolerance attitude to doping.
According to the CSA, it conducted a total of 1,758 cases of Anti-Doping tests with the coordination of CHINADA in 2015, including 473 urine tests and 35 blood tests in competition; 1,080 urine tests, and 116 blood tests out of competition, and 54 cases of biological passport.
In the meantime, FINA and CHINADA conducted 41 cases of in-competition tests for 27 swimmers and 82 cases of out-competition tests for 32 swimmers in total in 2015.
