Is Doping A Big Problem in China?


In the Anti-Doping Database, we have registered more than 13.000 athletes who has been banned after violating an Anti-Doping rule. Only 208 are Chinese athletes.

 

Track and field are the sport with the most cases in China. 89 athletes have been banned for an anti-doping rule violation. 72 swimmers and 15 weightlifters has tested positive for the steroid.

Erythropoietin (EPO) and Clenbuterol is the two most used substances. 22 Chinese athletes have tested positive for EPO. Just one positive test separates it from Clenbuterol which is in second place.

Not on the top ten list

Because we have only been able to register 208 doping cases related to China, the country does not come up on our top ten list. The last countries on that list are Brazil and Australia with 357 athletes suspended for an anti-doping rule violation.

Our list is topped by Russia with more than 1400 sanctions, followed by USA with 1016. India is in third place with 926.

Just like China, Track and field is the sport with the most doping cases in Russia. In our database we have found 452 Russian athletes banned. The same is also true for USA. 207 American track and field athletes has been banned after violating an anti-doping rule.

The anti-doping agency of China (CHINADA) do not publicly disclose a list of sanctioned athletes in English. The information we have in the Anti-Doping Database is based on sanctions published by International Sports Federations.

We might not present the complete number of cases related to China in this article.

Erythropoietin is involved in most doping cases in China

World wide 565 athletes has been sanctioned after testing positive for using EPO. The substance, which increases the body’s red blood cell count, is on the 7th position on the most used substances. That list is topped by Stanozolol with 1277 sanctions.

Russia leads the list of the most athletes who has tested positive for EPO with a total of 67 athletes banned. China – with its 22 positive findings – is in ninth place.

It is still the substance that has banned the most Chinese athletes.

Not surprisingly it is in Track and Field most athletes has been caught using EPO. 15 in total. That over three times as many as swimming in second place where only four swimmers has been banned for EPO.

It is how ever more surprising that two weightlifters has been banned for EPO. One more than in cycling.

World wide cycling is the sport with the most doping cases involving EPO. 240 cyclists has been sidelined after testing positive. Track and Field is the sport with the second most anti-doping rule violations involving EPO with 235. The third sport on the list is Triathlon with only 25.

Clenbuterol most used in swimming

Bodybuilding is the sport with the most doping cases involving Clenbuterol. In total 131 has been suspended after testing positive for the substance. Track and field is the sport with the second most cases involving the substance with 67. In rugby 46 players has been banned after testing positive.

Swimming 23 doping cases down on sixth place.

In China, how ever, the numbers are different. Swimming with its 12 positive test results is the sport with the most cases involving Clenbuterol. That is more than half of the positive tests for the steroid.

Canoeing is in second place with four cases followed by Track and Field with only two. One Chinese Judo athlete, a soccer player and a weightlifter sums up the top six list.

World-Wide the Czech Republic is the country with the most cases involving Clenbuterol. 45 athletes from the European country has been banned as of July 2024. New Zealand is the country with the second most cases.

An investigation into the internet show NZ Clenbuterol resulted in 29 athletes sanctioned. 23 of these were rugby players.

According to the Sports Integrity Initiative website, the shop was shut down in 2017.

22 athletes from the United Kingdom has tested positive for Clenbuterol. The same number of athletes from Australia.

 

Links:

https://chinada.cn/

https://www.sportsintegrityinitiative.com/clenbuterol-nz-three-more-rugby-players-sanctioned/

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/brothers-caught-as-first-clenbuterol-cases-decided/TTEQWKYEELAOFCQQL4W2WUSL6M/

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