After the 2024 Olympic swimming competition, Adam Peaty questioned China's victory in the men's 4x100m medley relay.
China won a thrilling race ahead of the United States and France, while Team GB, which includes Piti, finished fourth, missing out on a podium spot.
But three-time Olympic champion Peaty, who raced alongside Oliver Morgan, Duncan Scott and Matt Richards, said after the race: “One of my favorite quotes I've seen recently is that if you don't win fair, there's no point in winning.”
Before the Paris Olympics, the New York Times and German broadcaster ARD reported that seven months before the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, 23 Chinese swimmers had tested positive for the banned drug trimetazidine (TMZ) and were still allowed to compete.
Relay gold medallists Qin and Sun Jiajun were reportedly among those swimmers, all of whom were allowed to compete after learning they had unknowingly taken the drugs through contaminated food.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said it could not refute China's explanation that the positive tests were the result of athletes eating contaminated meat at a training camp hotel.
An independent report released in July found that WADA showed no bias against China in its handling of the case.
Peaty failed to secure a podium spot in the relay and was eliminated.
“One of my favorite quotes I’ve seen recently is, if you can’t win fair, you don’t have to win. I think you know that in your heart,” Petey said during a press conference after Sunday’s relay.
Seemingly referencing the New York Times' 2017 claim that Qin had tested positive for another performance-enhancing drug — blamed at the time for food contamination — Peaty said: “If you touch it and you know you're cheating, you can't win. I think if you've taken it and you've been 'tainted' twice, you should be an honorable person and step away from the sport.
“I don't want to paint one country or one group of people with one brush. I think that's very unfair. But there have been two instances where that's happened and it's very disappointing.
“But I think for those who need to do the work, wake up and do the work. I think we need to have faith in the system. But we don't. I think we need to be more strict.”
Chin has previously accused his opponents of being “intimidated”, saying on Chinese social media platform Weibo that “any tricks are aimed at disrupting our rhythm of preparation and destroying our psychological defences. But we are not afraid.”
China's Zhang Yufei, who won bronze in the women's 200m butterfly on Thursday, said of the team's doping allegations: “If there are still people who don't believe, we don't want to argue anymore. I believe we are innocent.
“Why should we be suspicious when Chinese swimmers swim really fast?”
Piti, doubting the future
Meanwhile, Peaty described what he described as the “worst week” physically since testing positive for coronavirus on Monday, adding that he had won silver in the men's 100m breaststroke the night before.
Asked if this would be his last Olympics, the six-time Olympic medallist said: “Tomorrow is never promised and if my heart wants it, my heart wants it and I will sign a contract with myself to do so.”
“It may still be a long way off, but this time I feel like I have to step away from the sport because I'm so sick.
“I'm trying to get away from it all for a while, and I don't know what the answer is. I'm just taking the time. If my family needs me, they need me. I can't lie to my heart, but if my heart wants it, my heart will want it.”
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