The men’s 100m freestyle final at the Paris Olympics is set to be unforgettable, but perhaps not for the reasons anticipated, as an Australian coach has raised questions about the legitimacy of the gold medalist’s victory.
China’s 19-year-old swimmer, Pan Zhanle, clinched the top spot in the Olympic event, shattering his own world record by 0.4 seconds.
This event was especially significant as it marked China’s first-ever gold medal in the 100m freestyle.
Pan secured the win by defeating Australia’s Kyle Chalmers by over a second at La Défense Arena, with Romania’s David Popovici finishing in third.
Pan finished the race a full body length ahead of his competitors, leaving commentators in disbelief at what they witnessed.
However, not everyone was impressed by the performance.
Australian coach and former Olympian Brett Hawke expressed his skepticism, describing the victory as ‘too good to be true’ and arguing that it was not ‘humanly possible’ to break the world record in such a manner.
Speaking on Instagram, 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. 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.
“It is not humanly possible to beat that field by a body length.”
Hawke went on to say he remains unconvinced that Pan’s victory was legitimate, although he did not elaborate on why it would be impossible for the record to be broken honestly.
“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 100 freestyle.
“That’s not humanly possible okay, so don’t sell it to me, don’t shove it down my throat. It’s not real.”
In a follow-up post, he added that ‘if something seems too good to be true, it probably is’.
Meanwhile, silver medalist Chalmers dismissed allegations of any wrongdoing by Pan.
Following the race, he stated: “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 [Pan] deserves that gold medal.”