Zhang was referring to the doping allegations that have clouded any notable Chinese swimming performance in the French capital. The skepticism stemmed from the fact that 23 Chinese swimmers failed doping tests before the Tokyo Olympics and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) did not publicly confirm these results until April this year, after the New York Times and German television station ARD reported on them.

WADA had accepted the findings of the Chinese doping authority, which had claimed that the swimmers had eaten contaminated food in a hotel kitchen.

05:55

China’s 17-year-old diver has won three Olympic gold medals, but who is Quan Hongchan?

China’s 17-year-old diver has won three Olympic gold medals, but who is Quan Hongchan?

After the Olympic swimming competition, the Washington Post published an editorial titled “The 12 medals Chinese swimmers won in Paris will be tainted forever.”

US swimming is not immune to doping problems either. In 2019, two-time Olympic champion Conor Dwyer retired after being banned for 20 months for having testosterone pellets surgically implanted into his body.

The suspicion and arrogance towards China’s Olympic successes do not end with the allegations of fraud.

After a night of athletics at the Stade de France, several American journalists stood in the mixed media zone and talked about the battle for the medal places between the USA and China.

“How does China win its medals?” asked a reporter who considered diving and shooting to be poor relatives of athletics and swimming.

These journalists spoke just after the United States completed a one-two finish in the men’s and women’s 4×400-meter relay on the track.

As the men’s final runner and Olympic champion in the 400-meter hurdles, Rai Benjamin, entered the room, he stressed that the American delegation respected their Chinese colleagues.

“Both countries have great athletes, they train really hard and are really efficient at what they do,” Benjamin told the Post. “Hats off to (China), everyone wants to come and fight for gold medals, that’s exactly why both teams are here.”

“I don’t think we were particularly focused on the medal table, although I looked at the results. I think we did a great job.”

China has invested heavily in training young athletes in sports where there is only moderate Western competition. The country’s continued dominance in diving and table tennis in particular is dismissed in some quarters as the result of China’s cultivation of young athletes to increase its Olympic medal quota.

China is blamed for its difficulties in team and contact sports, although the women’s hockey team took a first step towards restoring balance by winning the silver medal in Paris.

“I think China is a force in sport and has an amazing sporting culture,” said Alyson Annan, the team’s Australian head coach. “These athletes are incredible, they’re dedicated and they work hard. If you just give them a little bit of confidence they’re amazing, so I hope more comes from that.”

After the United States won 34 medals in track and field, 23 more than the next-best team, Kenya, there was nothing but praise for the country’s dominance in a single sport. USA Today declared, “Team USA has shown its speed and strength at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.”

“A dominant Olympic track and field meet,” praised the Chicago Tribune.

China still lags far behind in the field of athletics as the country tries to regain its credibility after it was revealed in 2016 that ten Olympic champions coached by Ma Junren claimed they were part of a state-sponsored doping program.

This summer, the Chinese women won three medals in the field and gold in the walk, but failed on the track. Wu Yanni, who only made it to the repechage round of the women’s 100-meter hurdles, said her country’s sprinters were “too slow and too weak.”

Back in the pool, Britain’s Adam Peaty lashed out after his team finished fourth in a 4x100m individual medley won by China. “There’s no point in winning if you don’t win fairly,” Peaty said.

Caeleb Dressel, the nine-time Olympic champion and member of the second-place U.S. team, made a more generous judgment.

“Australia and the USA are the two most famous (swimming nations) in my opinion, but at these Games I’ve seen China and France,” said Dressel. “I don’t think we’re getting any worse. It’s good for the sport when the whole world gets involved.”

Although opinions are divided about the success of the Chinese in some sports, the respect is clear in those areas where they have undisputed dominance.

After Cao Yuan completed China’s perfect vault meet with gold in the men’s 10m platform, bronze medalist Noah Williams of Britain told the Post: “In vault, China 100 percent has the respect it deserves. Ask anyone (in the sport), they know China is the best.”

“They finally won eight gold medals and I think they deserve that at any Olympic Games. They train better and harder than anyone else. They have fantastic facilities and several world and Olympic champions, the training conditions must be perfect for them.

“It’s harder to even make the Chinese team than to win the Olympics. Because as far as I can see into the future, they’re going to win gold.”

Mexican Osmar Olvera finished third in the men’s 3m springboard competition behind Chinese Xie Siyi and Wang Zongyuan.

“These athletes are incredible divers, the best of the best,” Olvera told the Post. “Xie is an incredible athlete in my opinion. He inspired me, he motivated me. Both (Xie and Wang) motivated (me).”

“I think these are the reasons why I keep improving and continue to work hard.”

In 2012, British diver Tom Daley called his Chinese rival Qi Bo a “robot.”

“The Chinese have a way of working,” Daley said. “They’re separated from school and from their families. There’s just this assembly line of Chinese divers and they make them work until they collapse and then the next one comes in and trains.”

Daley’s further comments were flattering as he addressed the challenge of breaking China’s hegemony in diving.

However, Siobhan Haughey’s coach stressed that the sporting achievements of Chinese and Western athletes are interpreted differently.

Tom Rushton said the shadow of doping that hangs over every successful Chinese swimmer contrasted with the praise that had come his way for US and Australian competitors who had set personal best times at Paris’s La Défense arena.

If a Chinese athlete were to make the same statement about the mindset required as David Popovici, the Olympic champion in the men’s 200-meter freestyle, it would undoubtedly lead to criticism of a repressed, one-dimensional lifestyle.

“It’s about the sacrifice, the real sacrifice,” Popovici told the Post. “Every day, every decision you make reflects what you want to achieve in the water. Obsession is not the healthiest thing, but that’s the one thing that separates Olympic and world champions from the best.”

“There are many great athletes, but only a few stand out. You have to do something different: work more, sleep less, eat better, don’t go out and don’t have a social life. All of these sacrifices could one day lead to results like this.”

Kaylee McKeown, the Australian swimmer who won five medals in Paris, including gold in the 100 and 200 meter backstroke, spoke of equally limited prospects.

“I don’t know if it’s healthy to be obsessed … but I’m obsessed with working hard and pushing my body to the limit,” McKeown told the Post. “I know this is such a short period of my life, so I’m just going to enjoy it while I can.”

China won 91 medals in 23 sports this summer. 14 sports accounted for the 40 gold medals, representing 12.2 percent of the gold medals awarded at the Games. In Tokyo three years ago, Chinese athletes topped the podium in 11.2 percent of the events.

The synchronized swimming team was among the 405 Chinese athletes who collected gold medals to surpass the 592 U.S. athletes. In their routine, “Light of Life,” the eight swimmers formed the shape of a mountain. “We wanted to show that you can overcome difficulties and reach the top of the mountain,” said coach Zhang Xiaohuan.

However, China is still at the very beginning of its journey to global respect in sport.