Chinese swimming world record ‘not humanly possible’ says Australian coach
Telegraph Sport
Updated Thu, August 1, 2024 at 8:18 PM GMT+2 · 6 min read
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. 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.”
