An Olympic athlete has been the subject of cheating allegations after a former Olympian branded his performance 'not humanly possible'.
At just 19-years-old, Chinese swimmer Pan Zhanle went on to break a world-record at the Paris 2024 Olympics yesterday (31 July).
But his achievements have had cast doubted upon them by former Olympian and Aussie coach Brett Hawke, who has claimed what he did in the pool was 'not humanly possible'.
Advert
Pan smashed his own record in the men's 100m freestyle final by 0.4 seconds, bagging the gold medal. And he defeated runner-up Kyle Chalmers of Australia by more than a second at the La Défense Arena.
Following this, Hawke took to Instagram to share his thoughts.
He said: "Listen, I'm just going to be honest, I am angry at that swim.
"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 Irvin and all the way up to King Kyle Chalmers.
WORLD RECORD! 🥇
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 31, 2024
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
"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 okay.
"I'm upset right now because you don't win 100 freestyle by a body length on that field. You just don't do it."
His bold claims continued: "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."
And just when viewers thought he might have said enough, Hawke continued to cast doubt on Pan's performance.
"That's not humanly possible okay so don't sell it to me, don't shove it down my throat. It's not real," he added.
But it is an interesting observation by the coach, as prior to Tokyo 2020, 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for a performance-enhancing banned substance.
However, the incident seemed to be a mix-up, after authorities accepted China's explanation that athletes had consumed contaminated food while staying together at a hotel - and were consequently allowed to compete.
Despite the comments made by the Aussie coach, silver medallist Chalmers, 26, did not seek to take anything away from Pan's victory.
Speaking after the race, he said: "I do everything I possibly can to win the race and trust everyone's doing the same as I am, staying true to the integrity of sport.
"I trust that… he deserves that gold medal."
