By Kane Wu
PARIS (Reuters) – China’s Zhang Yufei has said she would like to take a break from swimming and experience other things in life after ending her Paris Games with six medals to become her country’s most decorated Olympic swimmer.
The 26-year-old claimed a bronze in the 50 metres freestyle and 4×100 metres medley relay on Sunday to take her career tally to 10 over the Tokyo and Paris Olympics after coming home empty-handed from her debut in Rio.
“This is my third Olympics,” Zhang told reporters. “I’ve spent 12 years fully concentrated on swimming and never tried anything else. After this Olympics I’d like to experience other aspects in life.”
Zhang won three other bronze medals in 100 and 200 butterfly and the 4×100 freestyle relay. She also won silver in the mixed 4×100 medley relay.
Not adding to the gold medals she won in the 200 butterfly and 4×200 freestyle relay in Tokyo might have been a disappointment for some of her fans back home but not for Zhang.
“If you look at my times in the individual races, they weren’t that good,” Zhang said. “That considered I still won six medals. For me personally that was already a huge breakthrough. I feel especially proud of myself.”
Zhang, like 10 other Chinese swimmers, was competing in Paris in the shadow of a doping row that dominated the run-up to the Games.
The New York Times and German broadcaster ARD reported in April that Zhang was among 23 Chinese swimmers that were allowed to compete in the Tokyo Olympics despite testing positive earlier that year for heart medication trimetazidine, a drug banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
WADA has confirmed that 23 tested positive but not named any of them. It accepted the findings of a Chinese investigation that the test results were due to contamination from a hotel kitchen the team were staying at.
An independent investigation last month ruled WADA did not mishandle or show favouritism, while a World Aquatics audit concluded there was no mismanagement or cover-up by the governing body.
“We are innocent,” Zhang told reporters last week during the swimming competition.
“World Aquatics and other parties have already got to the bottom of everything and clarified online. If some people still don’t believe it, we are not going to refute any more in vain, because innocence will prevail.”
Although Zhang is planning to take a break, she still hopes to take part in her fourth Games in Los Angeles in 2028.
“I would like to focus on the relays for the next Olympics,” she said.
“(Sarah) Sjostrom is still my idol and my goal. I’ve seen many swimmers from Europe and U.S. competing at an older age than me and achieving great results or even better results.
“I’d like to go to LA and be alongside them. I’d like to be the idol of younger Chinese swimmers too.”
Swede Sjostrom, who turns 31 later this month, won the women’s sprint double with golds in the 50 and 100 freestyle in Paris.
(Reporting by Kane Wu; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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