A statement by the Swimming Management Center of China's General Administration of Sport has been widely shared online, revealing that Ning Zetao, one of China's most famous athletes and iconic swimmers, has been removed from the National Swimming Team.
Ning's dismissal has been confirmed as true. So far, both the staff of the Swimming Management Center and the head of the National Swimming Team have declined to comment. A formal statement is widely expected to be officially posted online later.
In 2015, Ning won the Best Male Athlete of the Year for the second consecutive year at the CCTV Sports Personality of the Year Awards, for his gold winning performance at the 16th FINA World Championships in Kazan, Russia.
