Adam Peaty wants anyone who has doped to be kicked out of swimming for good

By Paul Eddison at Paris La Défense Arena

Adam Peaty has urged anti-doping bodies to do their job and throw anyone found guilty of doping out of the sport on the final night of swimming action at Paris 2024.

The three-time Olympic champion was part of the men’s 4x100m medley relay team which finished fourth in a race won by China.

In the Chinese team were Qin Haiyang and Sun Jiajun, both of whom had tested positive for trimetazidine ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, only to escape sanction from CHINADA (the Chinese anti-doping agency).

The agency concluded that the readings were caused by "an isolated mass incident caused by athletes’ unknowing consumption of food contaminated with TMZ," and "no fault or negligence".

World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) had previously confirmed to The New York Times, that three Chinese swimmers had previously tested positive for ‘trace amounts’ of banned drug clenbuterol – with a later anti-doping report naming Qin as one of the three swimmers.

And Peaty, who finished fourth alongside Oliver Morgan, Duncan Scott and Matt Richards, believes swimmers who have been found to have been contaminated on more than one occasion should be banned from the sport for good.

He said: “One of my favourite quotes I’ve seen lately is ‘There’s no point in winning, if you’re not winning fair’. I think you know that truth in your heart. If you touch and you know you’re cheating, you’re not winning.

“For me, if you have been on that and have been contaminated twice, as an honourable person, you should be out of the sport. But we know sport isn’t that simple. I’ve also been asked about people who haven’t been contaminated and I respect that. I don’t want to paint a whole nation or a whole group of people with one brush, that would be very unfair.”

In not painting a whole nation with the same brush, Peaty is likely referring to Pan Zhanle, the Olympic champion over 100m freestyle, who anchored home the medley relay in a record split of 45.92, the fastest in history.

Pan has not been named in any reports.

The Chinese quartet edged out the USA for gold, with host nation France taking bronze as Léon Marchand completed his Olympics with a bronze medal to go with the four individual golds.

The Americans did break the world record in the women’s 4x100m medley relay, while Bobby Finke earned the first individual men’s gold in the pool, winning the 1500m freestyle and breaking the world record.

Lastly, Sarah Sjoestroem underlined her status as one of the greatest female sprinters of all time by winning the 50m freestyle, to go with the 100m freestyle she won earlier this week.

Asked about his future, Peaty admits that he has still not made up his mind over whether he will continue in the sport, with a trip to visit Mel Marshall, his long-time coach, who is relocating to Australia after these Games.

He said: “I'm going to visit her in January, take some time off everything and I don't really know what the answer is.

“I'm taking time, if my family needs me, they need me.

“I don't know you can't lie to your heart but if it wants it, it wants it.”

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