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Seven-time Olympic champion, Katie Ledecky, expressed her disappointment over the Olympics' anti-doping efforts and said that it would be challenging to compete against the Chinese swimmers who tested positive. The swimmer also asked for greater accountability after 23 Chinese swimmers were found guilty of using substances.
Ledecky, known as the most decorated female swimmer of all time, has won ten Olympic medals across her three appearances, from 2012 Rio to 2020 Tokyo.
The swimmer also broke her compatriot and another swimming legend Michael Phelps record for most individual world titles last year during the World Aquatic Championships in Fukuoka, Japan. She achieved the feat after winning the 800-meter freestyle event and claiming her 16th world title.
The 27-year-old is currently preparing for her fourth consecutive quadrennial Summer Games, scheduled for July this year. Amid all these updates, Ledecky expressed her worry about the Paris Olympics as she would be competing against some of the swimmers who have tested positive for doping. The American said, as quoted by CBS:
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"It's hard going into Paris knowing that we're gonna be racing some of these athletes. And I think our faith in some of the systems is at an all-time low. You try not to think too much about when you're actually racing. And the best thing to do is to just go out there and try to win."
She further added that it gets even more challenging, particularly after knowing that the playing field might not be even.
The event that cost Katie Ledecky and her team a gold at the Tokyo Olympics
Katie Ledecky and her team of Paige Madden and Katie McLaughlin were up against the Chinese squad for the 4x200m freestyle relay, but the Asian team won the event in a new world record time of 7:40.33, while Team USA finished second with 7:40.73.
It was reported that if the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) had disqualified the Chinese team in the wake of doping charges a few months before the Tokyo Olympics, then Katie Ledecky and her team would have added another gold to their kitty.
The USADA head, Travis Tygart, was furious about it, and he called out WADA and CHINADA on the aforementioned incident, saying (via USADA):
"Transparency is the key to shining the light in the darkness, and here, by not following the rules, WADA and CHINADA have left clean athletes in the dark."
Ledecky has had an impressive 2024 season so far, winning nine out of 12 races so far.
