Thousands of Chinese athletes doped through state-sponsored programme, exiled whistle-blower claims
Doctor tells German TV investigation that Olympic medals won in the Eighties and Nineties are tainted and should be handed back
A Chinese whistle-blower, now seeking political asylum in Germany, has claimed there was a systematic doping programme in China during the 1980s and 1990s across a range of sports.
In a television interview with German broadcaster ARD, Xue Yinxian, a 79-year-old doctor, claimed more than 10,000 athletes in different sports were involved in a state-backed doping programme.
The interview with Xue came from the same German investigative team which first made claims of widespread doping in Russia which ultimately led to the Russian athletics team being banned from the 2016 Olympic Games.
Xue said all medals won by Chinese athletes at major international tournaments in the last two decades of the 20th century were tainted by doping and should be handed back.
“In the 1980s and 90s, Chinese athletes on the national teams made extensive use of doping substances, claimed Xue.