Two Chinese swimmers 'warned' for clenbuterol use
The Chinese Swimming Association said it would also warn and fine Wang Lizhuo’s Navy team and An Jiabao’s Tianjin club, as well as their coaches over use of the banned substance
The Chinese Swimming Association said it would issue a “warning penalty” to swimmers Wang Lizhuo and An Jiabao after they tested positive for the banned substance clenbuterol.
According to a terse statement posted online, the CSA said it would be also be warning and fining Wang’s Chinese Navy team and An’s Tianjin club as well as fining their coaches.
The Chinese anti-doping agency [Chinada] denied it was “covering up” the tests, arguing it was following protocols by protecting the identities of the swimmers while test procedures and hearings were still under way
Wang and An’s identities were revealed when the CSA announced last week that six Chinese swimmers had failed doping tests during the 2015-16 season.
It identified a third swimmer as Chinese Navy’s Zhao Ying, who also tested positive for clenbuterol in an out-of-competition test but has not yet been punished.
Clenbuterol is a performance-enhancing substance sometimes found in weight-loss pills that is on the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) banned list.
The use of doping stimulants in Chinese swimming caught worldwide attention last week when Wada announced it was investigating claims published by The Times newspaper in Britain that Chinese sports authorities were suppressing five positive tests to “avoid a storm”.