Sep.-Oct. 1994 – Chinese Swimmers Fail Drug Tests Three Times More Than Any Other Nation

China wins 12 of 16 gold medals at the Sep. 1994 FINA World Championships in Rome, casting suspicion on that nation’s swimmers, who suddenly began winning medals in the early 1990s. The Chinese women dominate in swimming at the Oct. 1994 Asian Games, but suspicions of doping are confirmed as eleven Chinese athletes test positive for steroids after the competition and are stripped of 22 medals. The suspension of many Chinese swimmers results in only one gold medal won by the national team at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.

More than 40 Chinese swimmers fail drug tests between 1990 and 2000, triple the amount of any other nation’s swim team in that same time period.