Why this Aussie champ could boycott Paris podium

PARIS: Australian breaststroke champion Zac Stubblety-Cook has declared the anti-doping system “failed” as he prepares to square off in Paris with Qin Haiyang, one of the 23 Chinese swimmers engulfed in the lingering doping controversy.

Stubblety-Cook also indicated he may refuse to step on the podium at the Olympics, in the event of Qin winning gold and himself collecting a minor medal, in a stand that would be reminiscent of Mack Horton’s protest against Chinese doper Sun Yang in 2019.

Qin was one of the 23 Chinese swimmers who tested positive to a performance-enhancing drug called trimetazidine several months out from the Tokyo Games in 2021, before being cleared to compete at the Olympics by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

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At last year’s world championships in Fukuoka, Qin won gold in the 200m breaststroke and broke Stubblety-Cook’s world record. The Australian was left with silver.

Stubblety-Cook spoke to media in Paris on Thursday, less than a week out from facing Qin in the pool.

“I absolutely believe in clean sport and I hope that this is a clean Games,” Stubblety-Cook said.

“It’s obviously disappointing to hear that news and hear about the pre-Tokyo 23 athletes testing positive, some multiple times, and for me racing someone that was one of those athletes and finding out he was one of those athletes was disappointing.

“I think it’s less about what country they came from and more about the system and how ultimately it feels like it’s failed. That’s the truth.

“Obviously I can have all the opinions, but I am now focused on what I can control going into these Games and being a clean athlete … and hoping that my competitors are doing the same.”

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At the 2019 world championships in South Korea, Australia’s Horton refused to share the podium with China’s Sun, who had served a three-month doping suspension in 2014. Sun won gold in the 400m freestyle and Horton finished second.

Stubblety-Cook hinted at rule 50 of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) charter, which states: “No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas”.

“Everyone probably knows of rule 50 here and the repercussions that happen with that,” Stubblety-Cook said.

Despite that, the Brisbane product noted he would “make a decision probably on the day”.

“But at the end of the day, I’m a clean athlete and I’m trying to abide by those rules and I just hope my competitors do the same,” he added.

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Qin will contest both the 100m and 200m breaststroke events in Paris, but Stubblety-Cook will only swim the 200m.

Meanwhile, Bronte Campbell will become just the fourth female Australian swimmer to have contested four Olympic Games, joining her sister Cate, backstroke champion Emily Seebohm and breaststroke great Leisel Jones.

“While that news [of the China drugs scandal] when it came out was incredibly disappointing and I think incredibly frustrating, there’s nothing we can do about it two days before an Olympic Games,” Campbell told media in Paris on Thursday.

“What we can control is the next two days, how we spend our time and then once we start racing how that goes.

“So … it’s not the time to spend any thought or energy on it [the drugs controversy]. It’s parked in the back of the brain.”