Chinese Olympic 100m freestyle champion accuses Kyle Chalmers of disrespect

The New Daily
Aug 01, 2024, updated Aug 01, 2024

Day 5 - Paris Olympics

Source: Getty/AAP

China’s new Olympic 100m freestyle champion has sensationally accused Australian silver medallist Kyle Chalmers of disrespect.

Pan Zhanle shocked the swimming world by winning Thursday morning’s final by a body length to claim the first world record of the Paris Olympics.

Despite Chalmers and Pan sharing a seemingly friendly handshake on the podium, the Chinese swimmer accused the Australian of “ignoring” him in the opening days of the Games.

Speaking with Chinese media poolside after the race, Pan appeared to claim he had been shunned by his rivals in the days before the final.

“After we finished the 4x100m freestyle relay on the first day, I greeted Chalmers, but he completely ignored me,” Pan said in comments translated into English.

“This also included the US team’s (Jack) Alexy,” Pan said. “When we were training and our coaches were on the sides, the movements he [Alexy] made seemed like he was deliberately splashing water on the coaches. It just felt like he looked down on us. Can I say this?”

“This behaviour seemed a bit disrespectful to us.

“But today, we beat all of them, and broke the world record in such a difficult pool. It was an extraordinary performance and a great start for the Chinese team.”

The comments come a day after news broke that two Chinese swimmers tested positive to a banned steroid in October 2022, which was not revealed by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

There is no suggestion the 19-year-old Pan, competing at his first Olympics, was involved in the doping scandal.

Chalmers won gold in the event at the 2016 Rio Games and silver three years ago at the Tokyo Olympics.

He has become only the second man to medal in three consecutive Olympics in that men’s 100m event.

In comments after the final, Chalmers said he did not suspect anything untoward in Pan’s unexpected time.

“For him to produce … break the world record in the Olympic final is incredible,” he said.

“I trust that’s he’s done everything he possibly can to be there. And he deserves that gold medal. And I did everything I possibly could to challenge for that gold medal.”

On Thursday (AEST) the International Olympic Committee asked for talks between WADA and the United States, including the country’s anti-doping agency USADA, to resolve a dispute over jurisdiction in doping matters.

Kyle Chalmers celebrates with Zhanle Pan, who smashed the world record. Photo: Getty

A bipartisan group of US lawmakers on Tuesday threatened to cut US funding for WADA, accusing it of failing to properly investigate alleged doping by Chinese Olympic swimmers.

The US, the largest single-country funder of WADA, has accused the global anti-doping body of not disclosing that 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for performance-enhancing trimetazidine (TMZ) in China months before the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

“We have asked for a dialogue between WADA and all the stakeholders,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams told a press conference on Wednesday.

“From our understanding the question is about respect of international agreements and those international agreements have been signed by everyone around the world, including the United States.”

The swimmers were cleared by a Chinese investigation, which said they were inadvertently exposed to the drug through contamination at a hotel, but the Department of Justice has since launched an investigation.

WADA said it had no evidence to challenge China’s findings.

The incident, however, cast a shadow over the Paris Olympics and sparked a major row between the global and American anti-doping agencies, drawing in the IOC which said WADA was the only global body responsible for anti-doping.

WADA responded to US allegations by saying it would take USADA to the Independent Compliance Review Committee, a move that could jeopardise plans for the US to host the 2028 summer and 2034 winter Olympics in Los Angeles and Salt Lake City, respectively.

-with AAP

Topics: Olympics