Paris Olympics: Ben Proud Not Questioning Pan Zhanle’s WR: “A Great Swim By A Good Athlete”
While Ben Proud believes Pan Zhanle’s 100 free WR is transformative for swimming, he is not calling into question the Chinese athlete’s performance but instead described it as “a great swim by a good athlete.”
Questions around the Chinese swimming programme rose in volume on Wednesday night after Pan cut 0.40 from his own WR to stop the clock at 46.40.
The 19-year-old set the previous standard of 46.80 leading off the Chinese 4×1 free quartet to victory at the Doha worlds in February.
On Wednesday, he took a huge slice from that time to finish a body-length and 1.08 ahead of Kyle Chalmers who took silver in 47.48 with David Popovici third home in 47.49.
Both men responded to questions about the integrity of the performance by saying they believed the swim was done fairly.
Earlier this year, it was revealed that 23 swimmers tested positive for a banned performance-enhancing substance trimetazidine at a training camp in early 2021.
The swimmers were cleared by the Chinese Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA) as a case of environmental contamination, and the World Anti-Doping Agency assented to that decision.
World Aquatics did not appeal the decision the month before the Tokyo Olympics, and WADA has stood by its determination in an independent review of its case.
Pan, per reports, was not among the swimmers that tested positive.
However, Pan’s WR has been met with incredulity in some quarters amid accusations and finger-pointing.
Proud, though, doesn’t believe it should add to questions despite the revelations about China that have emerged in recent months.
Speaking after the 50 free prelims from which he progressed fifth, Proud said: “I think a 46.4 changes swimming for sure – it’s a huge drop, it’s fantastic. And it shouldn’t be questioned.
“It was a great swim by a good athlete and all the stuff should be taken care of behind the scenes by the people who are in charge.
“We sat and watched it and just thought – woah, I’m not going to swear, but it was just a phenomenal swim and to do that in the final against the best in the world, winning by a second, is something you won’t see very often.”
Neither did it make him question the performance, saying: “You can’t, it’s just unfair.
“We all do our thing and for me I am the only person I can trust flat out, whatever happens behind the scenes that’s out of my control. I just love to watch people swim and swim well and to be part of it.”
Cam McEvoy, who topped the 50 prelims, said: “It was very fast. From a technical point-of-view, almost textbook. When I first saw him last year, I saw the technique he had in the 100 with the breathing, and I was really intrigued at how nicely it was done, and last night was just unreal. It’s pretty crazy.”
