From left: Wu Qingfeng, Cheng Yujie, Zhang Yufei and Yang Junxuan pose for a photo after the medal ceremony.  Photo: Xinhua

On Saturday, China's Olympic champion Zhang Yufei called on the public to look at the Chinese swimming team through an unbiased lens in response to the unfair treatment and criticism that Chinese swimmers are facing.

Zhang, together with Yang Junxuan, Cheng Yujie and Wu Qingfeng clocked a time of 3 minutes 30.30 seconds winning the bronze in the women's 4×100m freestyle relay on Saturday. It's also a new Asian record.

Meanwhile, Pan Zhanle chalked up 46.92 seconds in his leadoff split in the men's 4×100m freestyle relay final, breaking the Olympic record for the men's 100m freestyle and China won fourth in the final. 

"My performance was not good enough. If I had created a greater advantage, we could have reached the podium," said Pan, who is the world record holder of 100m freestyle.

Zhang told the Xinhua News Agency that in the two months leading up to the Paris Olympics, every athlete of the Chinese swimming team was tested around 20 to 30 times, averaging three to four tests per person per week.

On July 4, several US media outlets reported that the FBI and the Department of Justice initiated a criminal investigation involving 23 Chinese swimmers who won three gold medals for China at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Of these 23 swimmers, 11 are competing in the Paris Games.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) voiced its disappointment over the US' attempt to tarnish the reputation of Chinese swimmers in the case just three weeks ahead of the Paris Olympic Games.

The China Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA) issued a statement on Friday, saying that a recent review report released by the WADA regarding the 23 Chinese swimmers and their non-fault use of trimetazidine not only proves that CHINADA's investigation and handling of the case were reasonable, but also discredits baseless accusations of a "cover-up" coming from the US Anti-Doping Agency, and some Western media reports.

"No athletes, whether Chinese or from other countries, want to see their years of hard work destroyed by doping," Zhang noted, emphasizing that China has a zero-tolerance policy towards doping and attributing the incident to environmental food contamination.

Based on the statistics released by World Aquatics on July 23, Chinese swimmers were the most tested Olympians ahead of the Paris Games, with each athlete being tested 21 times on average since January 1, 2024.

According to data from the Chinese swimming team, from May 5 to July 22, Zhang underwent 27 drug tests during her training in China and at the Deauville camp in France.