Tang Muhan and Chinese Doping Allegations Explained

In this investigation, Tang Muhan, a 20-year-old Chinese athlete, is in Paris to compete in the 200-meter freestyle relay, which her team won in record time in Tokyo. However, Tang and another athlete, He Jun, tested positive for a banned steroid in 2022. Usually, this would lead to suspension, a hearing, and public disclosure, but in this case, the athletes were secretly suspended and cleared by the Chinese anti-doping agency (Chinada), avoiding public awareness. The official Chinese narrative claims that the steroid, metadone, contaminated the meat in hamburgers the athletes ate during a training camp in Beijing. Despite skepticism from experts and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), who found the theory hard to disprove, the athletes were cleared to compete. This incident follows a pattern of secret doping cases among Chinese swimmers, including a previous case involving 23 swimmers testing positive for a heart drug and another for the steroid clenbuterol. Despite these instances, Chinese authorities maintain there is no deliberate doping within their teams. The situation remains controversial, especially amidst the ongoing Olympic swimming competition in Paris.