The doping controversy involving Chinese swimmers in the ongoing Rio 2016 Olympics, started when Australian swimmer Mack Horton called Chinese swimmer Sun Yang a drug cheat, is far from over.
Sydney Morning Herald reported on Friday that the Chinese Swimming Association (CSA) confirmed swimmer Chen Xinyi failed a doping test. The fourth-placer in the women’s 100-meter butterfly final tested on Sunday positive for hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ).
HCTZ is a diuretic banned because of its potential to hide the use of other performance-enhancing drug. CSA said the 18-year-old swimmer provided her “B” sample for more testing. She also asked for an evidentiary hearing, reported Xinhua News Agency.
The news shocked Chinese that Chen Xinyi became trending on Weibo, China’s equivalent of Twitter. Among the comments posted by Chinese netizens were asking the athlete who made her take HCTZ. Others went back to Horton’s comments against Sun, but many pointed out that Chen testing positive for the banned drug “has nothing to do with Sun Yang, and Horton will still be his bitch in the 1500m.”
Sun and Horton will once more battle each other on Sunday in the 1,500-meter freestyle final. But one netizen wrote that Chen’s positive test is a real slap in the face for China, adding, “Horton must have passed out with laughter right now.”
Chen was slated to swim on Friday morning in the 50-meter freestyle heats. In the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, Chen was the gold medalist at the women’s 100-meter butterfly. She also broke the world youth record at the World Championship in Kazan in 2015 for the same category, according to CNN.