Chinese swimming world record ‘not humanly possible’ says Australian coach

Olympian Hawke adds to suspicions around rival nation by questioning teenager Pan’s remarkable performance in 100 metres freestyle

A leading Australian swimming coach has led criticism of Pan Zhanle’s stunning 100m freestyle world record after saying the Chinese swimmer’s performance in the pool was “not humanly possible”.
Brett Hawke led the international disbelief among some quarters after the 19-year-old stormed to gold in 46.40 seconds to beat nearest rival Kyle Chalmers by more than a second.
Pan destroyed a high-class field to shave almost half a second off his own world record in the biggest winning margin in the men’s 100m freestyle since American Johnny Weissmuller in 1928, but his performance has been overshadowed by ongoing suspicions surrounding the Chinese team.
The 19-year-old said that he was not concerned by the doping row that has engulfed China’s swimming team at the Paris Games, despite being named in an investigation by The New York Times and German broadcaster ARD.
It reported that 23 athletes at Tokyo 2020 failed drugs tests for a banned heart medication, 11 of whom are competing in the Olympics, and a further two athletes were cleared after testing positive for a strong anabolic steroid in 2022 that was blamed on contaminated meat.
WORLD RECORD! 🥇Pan Zhanle breaks his own WR with a truly stunning swim in the men’s 100m freestyle final. #BBCOlympics #Olympics #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/4aw2myrD6L
But in an animated video posted on his Instagram account, Hawke described it as a performance that “is not real” and said he had never encountered anything like it in three decades coaching in the sport.
“Listen, I’m just going to be honest, I am angry at that swim,” said Hawke, who did not specifically address recent allegations of Chinese doping cover-ups that have included multiple swimmers but not Pan himself.
“Look, I’m angry for a number of reasons. Look, my friends are the fastest swimmers in history, from Rowdy Gaines to Alex Popov to Gary Hall Jr, Anthony Ervin and all the way up to King Kyle Chalmers. I know these people intimately, I’ve studied them for 30 years.
“I’ve studied this sport. I’ve studied speed. I understand it. I’m an expert in it, that’s what I do, OK. I’m upset right now because you don’t win 100m freestyle by a body length on that field. You just don’t do it.”
Hawke, who represented Australia at the 2000 and 2004 Olympics, said: “It is not humanly possible to beat that field by a body length. I don’t care what you say. This is not a race thing, this is not against any one particular person or nation, this is just what I see and what I know.
“That’s not real, you don’t beat that field. Kyle Chalmers, David Popovici, Jack Alexy, you don’t beat those guys by one full body length in 100m freestyle. That’s not humanly possible, OK, so don’t sell it to me, don’t shove it down my throat. It’s not real.”
The fall-out between the two countries intensified after Australian broadcaster Neil Mitchell claimed China’s Olympic swimming campaigns are “based around cheating”.
“They’re protecting them,” Mitchell said on Australian TV breakfast show Sunrise. “The Chinese system is designed around cheating… There were 23 [competitors] at Tokyo and 11 here [in Paris] under suspicion,” Mitchell told Sunrise’s Nat Barr on Thursday, after the host said “this feels like the Chinese are treated differently” when it comes to drugs in sport.
Tensions ran high on an explosive night at Paris’s La Défense Arena after Pan accused Chalmers and Alexy of “looking down” on him and splashing his coach with water, while the country’s anti-doping agency angrily accused The New York Times of trying to sabotage their Olympic campaign.
“On the first day, at the 4×100 relay, after we finished swimming, I greeted Chalmers. He didn’t pay me any attention at all,” Pan told China Central Television.
“Including Alexy from the American team – when we were training and our coaches were on the sides, the movements he [Alexy] made seemed like he was deliberately splashing water on the coaches – it just felt like he looked down on us. Can I say this?”
Chalmers was taken by surprise by Pan’s criticism, and revealed that Pan had said to his face how he viewed the Australian as an “idol”.
“Last year, I remember walking out before the final of the world championships and just he was maybe a lane next to me,” Chalmers said. “He actually came up to me, and I didn’t know he spoke any English at that stage, and he said, ‘Kyle, I have so much respect for you. You’re my idol’.
“Then again tonight, after the race, I congratulated him and he said, ‘You are my idol’. I look at him the same as any competitor.”
While Pan was unmoved on China’s doping allegations, the Chinese Anti-Doping Agency (Chinada) chose to hit back after fresh allegations were made that two Paris 2024 athletes failed drugs tests in 2022 but were cleared of wrongdoing. 
Chinada accused The New York Times of politicising doping issues and trying to “affect the psychology” of Chinese athletes, adding that it strictly follows anti-doping guidelines and condemning the US newspaper as “unfair and immoral”.
“[The New York Times’] main purpose is to disrupt the order of the Paris Olympic swimming competition, affect the psychology of Chinese athletes and weaken their competitive ability,” Chinada said in a statement on Wednesday. “This is extremely unfair and immoral.”
In response, a spokesperson for The New York Times said: “We are confident in the accuracy of our reporting.”
Pan said he had been frequently visited by anti-doping testers, including on the day of his world record-shattering performance, and that he had never failed one.
“I tried my best to get the best result. I was very surprised in the end that I broke the world record and it was a magical moment,” Pan told reporters through a translator.
“Last year I received 29 tests and never had a positive [result]. From May to July, I had 21 tests, no positive. Today we received a second test already.
“I don’t think there has been any impact [on me] because all the testing has been done in the normal procedure … So it’s not a big issue.”
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Chalmers was astonished by Pan’s performance, and was asked afterwards whether the incredible time – which took a massive 0.4 seconds off his existing world record – raised suspicions.
“I do everything I possibly can to win the race. I trust that everyone’s doing the same as I am and staying true to sport and the integrity of sport,” Chalmers said.
He added: “It’s crazy. The last 15 metres, I thought I could be dead last because he’s so far ahead of me.
“I trust that he’s done everything he possibly can to be there, and he deserves that gold medal. I did everything I possibly could to challenge for that gold medal and be on the top of the podium. I have silver and I’m just as happy with that.”