Olympics-Swimming-Ledecky hopes for clean Games amid China doping row

Fukuoka 2023 World Aquatics Championships - Swimming - Marine Messe Fukuoka Hall A, Fukuoka, Japan - July 29, 2023 Katie Ledecky of the U.S. celebrates after winning the women's 800m freestyle final /Marko Djurica/File Photo

PARIS - American swimming great Katie Ledecky says she hopes athletes will be "competing clean" at the Paris Olympics amid a row over a doping case involving Chinese swimmers.

The New York Times and German broadcaster ARD reported in April that 23 Chinese swimmers were allowed to compete at the Tokyo Olympics despite testing positive earlier in the year for heart medication trimetazidine, a drug banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

Eleven of the swimmers named in the reports were selected in China's Olympic team at Paris.

"I hope everyone here is going to be competing clean this week. But what really matters also is, were they training clean?" seven-times Olympic gold medallist Ledecky told reporters on Wednesday.

"So really, hopefully, that's been the case. Hopefully, there's been even testing around the world."

WADA confirmed 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive but has not named any of them. It accepted the findings of a Chinese investigation that the test results were due to contamination from a hotel kitchen the team were staying at.

An independent investigation ruled this month that WADA did not mishandle or show favouritism while a World Aquatics audit concluded there was no mismanagement or cover-up by the governing body.

A spokesperson of China's Foreign Ministry said China trusts the conclusion reached by the independent Swiss prosecutor and supports WADA's governance.

Ledecky said athletes wanted more transparency in the case and change in the global anti-doping system.

"They want transparency. They want further answers to the questions that still remain," the 27-year-old added.

"At this point, we're here to race. We're going to race whoever's in the lane next to us.

"We're not the ones paid to do the testing.

"So, we hope that the people that are follow their own rules, and that applies now and into the future.

"We want to see some change for the future so that you don't have to ask us that question."

-(Reuters)