Twenty-three top Chinese swimmers tested positive for the same powerful banned substance seven months before the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021 but were allowed to escape public scrutiny and continue to compete after top Chinese officials secretly cleared them of doping and the global authority charged with policing drugs in sports chose not to intervene.

在2021年東京奧運會開幕前7個月，23名中國頂尖游泳運動員對同一種強效違禁物質的藥檢結果呈陽性，但在中國高層官員悄悄幫他們洗清了禁藥嫌疑，且負責監管體育興奮劑的全球機構決定不予干預後，他們得以逃避公眾的審視，繼續參加比賽。

Several of the athletes who tested positive — including nearly half of the swimming team that China sent to the Tokyo Games — went on to win medals, including three golds. Many still compete for China and several, including the two-time gold medalist Zhang Yufei, are expected to contend for medals again at this year’s Summer Games in Paris.

其中幾名檢測結果陽性的運動員（包括近一半參加東京奧運會的中國游泳隊隊員）後來還贏得了獎牌，包括三枚金牌。許多人目前仍在為中國隊效力，一些人預計將在今夏巴黎奧運會上再次角逐獎牌，其中包括兩枚金牌得主張雨霏。

China acknowledged the positive tests in a report by its antidoping regulator, saying that the swimmers had ingested the banned substance unwittingly and in tiny amounts, and that no action against them was warranted.

中國在其反興奮劑監管機構的一份報告中承認了陽性檢測結果，稱游泳運動員是在不知情的情況下攝入了微量違禁物質，因此沒有必要對他們採取任何行動。

But an examination by The New York Times found that the previously unreported episode sharply divided the antidoping world, where China’s record has long been a flashpoint. American officials and other experts said the swimmers should have been suspended or publicly identified pending further investigation, and they suggested that the failure to do so rested with Chinese sports officials; swimming’s international governing body, World Aquatics; and the World Anti-Doping Agency, the global authority that oversees national drug-testing programs.

但《紐約時報》的調查發現，這一此前未經媒體曝光的事件在反興奮劑界引發嚴重分歧，長期以來，中國在這方面的記錄都是一個導火線。美國官員和其他專家表示，這些游泳運動員本應被禁賽或公開身份，等待進一步調查，他們表示，中國的體育官員、世界游泳聯合會（游泳項目的國際管理機構）、世界反興奮劑組織（全球興奮劑檢測監管機構）卻聽之任之。

Those authorities decided not to act despite an email exchange between a Chinese antidoping official and a top world swimming official appearing to indicate that a violation may have taken place and would, at the least, have to be publicly acknowledged.

儘管中國反興奮劑官員與世界泳聯高級官員之間的電子郵件似乎表明可能存在違規行為，而且至少必須公開承認，但這些機構還是決定不採取行動。

Even after other national and international antidoping officials repeatedly provided the global regulator, known as WADA, with intelligence suggesting a cover-up and doping by Chinese swimmers, the agency chose not to try to hold the athletes accountable, asserting “a lack of any credible evidence” to challenge China’s version of events. WADA defended its decision not to take action, calling the criticism unsubstantiated.

雖然其他國家和國際反興奮劑官員多次向世界反興奮劑組織提供情報，表明中國游泳運動員存在掩蓋事實和使用興奮劑的情況，該機構選擇不追究運動員的責任，並表示對於中國的說法，「缺乏任何可信證據」來予以質疑。世界反興奮劑組織為其不採取行動的決定進行了辯護，稱這些批評沒有根據。

The F.B.I. learned in the past year about the positive tests, the Chinese rationale for clearing the athletes of wrongdoing, and the inaction by WADA, according to two people familiar with the matter and a document examined by The Times.

根據兩位知情人士和《紐約時報》查閱的一份文件，美國聯邦調查局在過去的一年獲悉了這些陽性藥檢結果，中國為這些運動員開脫的理由，以及世界反興奮劑組織的不作為。

Federal investigators have taken steps in recent weeks to learn more about what occurred. A spokesman for the F.B.I. declined to comment. Any inquiry by the American authorities would come with a powerful new tool: a law passed in 2020 giving the Justice Department powers to criminally prosecute attempts to corrupt international sports events through doping, no matter where they take place.

最近幾週，聯邦調查人員已採取措施，進一步了解相關情況。聯邦調查局發言人拒絕置評。美國當局的調查所基於的是一個強大的新工具：2020年通過的一項法律賦予司法部權力，對於試圖通過興奮劑破壞國際體育賽事的行為進行刑事訴訟，無論使用興奮劑的行為是在哪裡發生的。

In a statement in response to questions from The Times, the United States Anti-Doping Agency accused WADA, its global counterpart, of failing in its mission.

在回應時報採訪的聲明中，美國反興奮劑機構指責世界反興奮劑組織未能履行使命。

“This appears to be a devastating stab in the back of clean athletes and a deep betrayal of all the athletes who compete fairly and follow the rules,” said the U.S. antidoping agency’s chief executive officer, Travis T. Tygart, who acknowledged providing WADA with allegations of doping in Chinese swimming multiple times since 2020. “All of those with dirty hands in burying these positives and suppressing the voices of courageous whistle-blowers must be held accountable to the fullest extent of the rules and law.”

美國反興奮劑機構首席執行官特拉維斯·泰格特表示：「對於清白的運動員來說，這像是從背後捅了一刀，也是對所有公平競爭、遵守規則的運動員的嚴重背叛。」他承認自2020年以來，該機構曾多次向世界反興奮劑組織提出中國游泳運動員使用興奮劑的指控。「所有那些掩蓋這些陽性結果、壓制勇敢舉報者聲音的骯髒之手，都必須依照法規充分追究責任。」

This article is based on a review of confidential documents and emails — including a report compiled by the Chinese antidoping agency and submitted to WADA — and interviews with people involved in antidoping efforts around the world. Some interviews were conducted on the basis that sources not be identified because they were not authorized to speak publicly or had concerns about retaliation.

本文是建立在對機密文件和電子郵件的查閱（包括由中國的反興奮劑機構編撰並提交給世界反興奮劑機構的一份報告），以及對世界各地參與反興奮劑工作的人士採訪基礎之上。一些採訪是在不透露消息來源的基礎上進行的，因為他們未獲授權公開發言或擔心遭到報復。

During the course of the reporting for this article, journalists for The Times learned that a team from ARD, Germany’s public broadcaster, was also examining the episode. ARD shared some of its reporting and video footage with The Times and the two news organizations agreed to coordinate publication of their findings, which were arrived at independently.

在報導過程中，時報的記者了解到，德國公共廣播公司ARD的一個團隊也在調查這起事件。ARD與時報分享了一些報導和影片片段，兩家新聞機構同意協調發布他們的調查結果，這些調查結果是雙方各自獨立得出的。

Experts in antidoping, drug-testing and compliance interviewed by The Times said the handling of the case of the Chinese swimmers and the lack of disclosure about the positive tests ran counter to long-established precedents meant to ensure transparency, accountability and competitive fairness in elite sports.

接受時報採訪的反興奮劑、藥檢和合規方面的專家表示，對中國游泳運動員事件的處理，以及對陽性檢測結果的秘而不宣，違反了長期以來旨在確保精英體育運動的透明度、問責制和公平競爭的先例。

The episode also exposes shortcomings in the system set up to police doping in sports, with one of the world’s most powerful countries able to send athletes who had recently tested positive for a banned drug to the world’s highest-profile athletic competition, where they set world and Olympic records without any public disclosure.

事件還暴露了在體育運動中興奮劑監管制度的缺陷。作為世界上最強大的國家之一，中國能夠將最近違禁藥物檢測呈陽性的運動員派往世界上最引人注目的體育賽事，他們在那裡創造了世界和奧運會紀錄，而沒有任何的公開披露。

An investigation by the Chinese antidoping agency, known as Chinada, suggested that the incident stemmed from a tainted food supply, a finding that some experts considered implausible.

中國反興奮劑中心的一項調查顯示，事件源於受污染的食品供應，一些專家認為這一結論不可信。

In their report, Chinese investigators described how many of the country’s best swimmers were staying at the same hotel for a domestic meet in the final days of 2020 and the first days of 2021. Two months after the swimmers tested positive for the banned substance — a prescription heart drug that can enhance performance — Chinese investigators reported finding trace amounts of the substance in the hotel’s kitchen.

在報告中，中國的調查人員描述了中國許多頂尖游泳選手在2020年最後幾天和2021年頭幾天入住同一酒店，參加一場國內賽事。在游泳運動員的違禁藥物（一種可以提高成績的心臟處方藥）檢測呈陽性兩個月後，中國調查人員報告說，在酒店的廚房裡發現了微量的這種物質。

Their report offered no evidence of how the drug got there, despite enlisting the help of China’s national police. But they concluded that the swimmers had unwittingly ingested it in small amounts.

儘管得到了中國警方的幫助，但他們的報告沒有提供證據證明這種藥物是如何出現在那裡的。但他們得出的結論是，游泳運動員在不知情的情��下攝入了少量藥物。

WADA confirmed in a statement that it had “carefully reviewed the decision” made by the Chinese and chose not to act after consulting scientists and external legal counsel “to thoroughly test the contamination theory presented by Chinada.”

世界反興奮劑組織在一份聲明中證實，它「仔細審議了」中方的決定，並在諮詢了科學家和外部法律顧問「以徹底檢驗中國興奮劑中心提出的污染理論」後，決定不採取行動。

“Ultimately, we concluded that there was no concrete basis to challenge the asserted contamination,” WADA’s senior director of science and medicine, Olivier Rabin, said in the statement.

世界反興奮劑組織的科學與醫學高級主任奧利維爾·拉賓在聲明中表示，「最後我們得出結論認為，沒有確鑿的依據來質疑所聲稱的污染。」

In contrast to WADA’s position, the International Testing Agency, a group based in Switzerland that was created after an earlier Russian doping scandal to provide an extra layer of independent oversight for global athletic competition, said its own assessment of the case remained ongoing.

與世界反興奮劑機構的立場相反，總部位於瑞士的國際檢測機構表示，它對此案的評估仍在進行中。該機構是在早些時候俄羅斯爆出興奮劑醜聞後成立的，旨在為全球體育競賽提供額外的獨立監督。

Chinada said in a statement that it determined its athletes had not violated any antidoping laws and therefore it was not obliged to publish any details related to the case without the athletes’ consent.

中國反興奮劑中心在一份聲明中表示，該協會確定其運動員沒有違反任何反禁藥法律，因此沒有義務在未經運動員同意的情況下公布與此案有關的任何細節。

The Chinese Swimming Association did not reply to a fax seeking comment on the tests.

中國游泳協會沒有回覆就檢測結果置評的傳真。

Swimming’s governing body confirmed that the cases had been reviewed by a doping control board and been subjected to independent expert scrutiny, without providing further details. “World Aquatics is confident that these A.A.F.s were handled diligently and professionally, and in accordance with all applicable antidoping regulations, including the World Anti-Doping Code,” it said, referring to adverse analytical findings, the term for positive tests.

游泳運動管理機構證實，反興奮劑委員會已經對這些案例進行了審查，並接受了獨立專家的嚴格檢查，但沒有提供更多細節。「世界游泳聯合會相信，這些AAF都得到了認真和專業的處理，並且符合所有適用的反興奮劑規定，包括《世界反興奮劑條例》，」該聯合會稱。AAF指的是不良分析結果，即陽性檢測。

The story that the swimmers had ingested the substance unknowingly provided a rationale for the Chinese authorities to break with normal antidoping protocols. Those would typically involve a public declaration that the athletes in question were being temporarily suspended pending further investigation, particularly if a finding of food contamination had not yet been established.

游泳運動員在不知情的情況下攝入這種物質的說法為中國政府打破正常的反興奮劑規定提供了依據。通常情況下，政府會公開宣布相關運動員暫時停賽，等待進一步調查，尤其是在食品污染調查結果尚未確定的情況下。

The handling of the matter by the Chinese authorities and the global regulators came at an especially sensitive moment. The swimmers were planning to compete in just a few months at the Summer Games in Tokyo, and China, battered by the pandemic, was to host the Winter Games the following year.

中國政府和全球監管機構當時對此事的處理遇上了一個特別敏感的時刻。這些游泳運動員計劃在幾個月後參加東京夏季奧運會，而飽受大流行肆虐的中國將在第二年舉辦冬季奧運會。

WADA’s handling of the positives involving the Chinese swimmers stood in stark contrast to how it acted less than a year later when faced with a strikingly similar episode involving a Russian figure skater who tested positive for the same banned heart drug, trimetazidine, just before the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games. That skater, Kamila Valieva, blamed contaminated food and tested for relatively low levels of the substance.

世界反興奮劑組織對涉及中國游泳運動員的陽性檢測結果的處理方式與不到一年後它在面對一名俄羅斯花樣滑冰運動員的極其相似事件的處理方式形成了鮮明對比，這位名叫卡蜜拉·瓦利耶娃的花滑運動員在2022年北京冬奧會前夕也被檢測出同一種不得使用的心臟藥物曲美他嗪結果呈陽性。她被檢測出相對較低的藥物含量，她將結果歸咎於食物受到了污染。

In that case, WADA swiftly and successfully appealed the Russian antidoping agency’s decision to clear her, and the top court in sports eventually barred her from international competition for four years.

在這起事件中，世界反興奮劑組織迅速且成功地對俄羅斯反興奮劑機構宣稱瓦利耶娃沒有違規的決定提出了上訴，最高體育法院最終裁定禁止她參加國際比賽四年。

The Valieva case came after WADA was accused of ignoring clues to Russia’s systematic doping for years. Since that scandal, some antidoping authorities have agitated for reform at the agency, hoping to ensure that the world’s doping watchdog would never again defer to a nation to investigate itself. Now it appears to be facing similar questions.

瓦利耶娃事件發生前，世界反興奮劑組織被指控多年來無視俄羅斯系統性使用興奮劑的跡象。自該醜聞發生以來，一些國家的反興奮劑機構推動該機構的改革，希望確保這個世界興奮劑監督機構再也不會任由一個國家自己調查自己。現在，該機構似乎再次面臨類似的質疑。

The Olympic Games are a point of pride for the Chinese government, as a way to project the country’s strength and competence. In recent years, China has focused in particular on sports — marquee ones like swimming, but also minor ones like women’s weight lifting — where it can collect medals in bulk.

作為展示國家實力和能力的一種方式，奧運會是中國政府的驕傲。近年來，中國尤其重視可以大量獲得獎牌的體育項目，包括游泳等大型項目，也包括女子舉重等小型項目。

But the Games are also hugely popular among the broader population, and the sudden rise of Chinese athletes in swimming — a source of great success but also great scandal — has only increased the sport’s profile. The state news media is already forecasting “glory” at the Paris Olympics.

奧運會在廣大民眾中也深受歡迎，中國運動員在游泳項目上的突然崛起——這既帶來了巨大成功，也帶來了巨大的醜聞——更加提高了這項運動的知名度。國家新聞媒體已經開始預測巴黎奧運會的「輝煌」。

The story of the positive tests began unfolding a year into the coronavirus pandemic, a period when antidoping authorities feared that travel bans and closed borders in many countries would make it easier to cheat. Those restrictions would reduce the opportunities for testing at international events and lead to an almost total reliance on national antidoping agencies.

新冠大流行一年後，藥檢陽性的事件開始出現，當時反興奮劑機構擔心許多國家的旅行禁令和邊境關閉會使作弊變得更加容易。這些限制會減少在國際賽事中進行藥檢的機會，並導致幾乎完全依賴各國自己的反興奮劑機構。

The roughly two dozen positive tests involving Chinese swimmers were collected at a New Year’s event held over four days in December 2020 and January 2021 in Shijiazhuang, a provincial city of about 11 million people a few hours southwest of Beijing.

在2020年12月到2021年1月於石家莊舉行的一個為期四天的新年賽事中，二十多個中國游泳運動員的藥檢結果呈陽性。石家莊是一個擁有約1100萬人口的省會城市，位於北京西南部數小時車程的地方。

The meet, hosted by China’s national swimming association, was designed to be a competitive warm-up for 200 of the country’s top athletes, a group that had been training in seclusion during the pandemic but that was then only months away from the national qualifying event for the Summer Olympic Games, which were set to open in late July in Tokyo.

這次比賽由中國國家游泳協會主辦，目的是在為200名中國頂尖運動員進行競技熱身，這些運動員在大流行期間一直在進行封閉訓練，但當時距離夏季奧運會的國家預選賽只有幾個月的時間，奧運會將於7月底在東京開幕。

At the meet, as is typical at such competitions, Chinada tested the top two finishers in each event and a couple of others from each of the 29 races.

在比賽中，按照慣例，中國反興奮劑中心對每個項目的前兩名選手，以及29場比賽中的其他一些選手進行了檢測。

Samples are supposed to be immediately sent to an accredited laboratory, analyzed and reported to WADA and World Aquatics, the association that governs world swimming. But for reasons that remain unclear, the results of the tests in Shijiazhuang were not reported to the computer management system that tracks all testing of athletes until March 15, 2021, two and a half months later. Chinada said that WADA had allowed it to freeze the tests for a month after they were collected because of the pandemic.

按規定，樣本應立即送往有資質的實驗室進行分析，並向世界反興奮劑機構和世界游泳運動的管理機構世界泳聯報告。但由於尚不清楚的原因，石家莊的檢測結果直到2021年3月15日，即兩個半月後才上報給跟蹤所有運動員檢測情況的計算機管理系統。中國反興奮劑中心稱，由於大流行，世界反興奮劑組織允許它將檢測結果採集後冷凍一個月。

Ultimately, according to the 61-page investigative report compiled by Chinada and reviewed by The Times, a total of 60 tests were conducted on 39 swimmers. Those urine samples produced 28 positives involving 23 of the meet’s competitors — a shockingly high failure rate. All of the samples tested positive for the same drug, trimetazidine, known as TMZ.

最終，根據中國反興奮劑中心撰寫的61頁調查報告（時報查看了該報告），共對39名游泳運動員進行了60次檢測。這些尿樣中有28份呈陽性，涉及23名參賽選手，不合格率之高令人震驚。所有樣本都檢測出了同一種藥物——曲美他嗪，即TMZ。

TMZ is a prescription medication designed to help people with heart disease. It is included in a category of performance-enhancing drugs that come with the harshest penalties. It can help athletes increase stamina and endurance and hasten recovery times, and is difficult to detect because it quickly clears through the body.

TMZ是一種處方藥，用於心臟病患者。它被列入一類可受到最嚴厲懲罰的提高成績藥物。它可以幫助運動員增強體力和耐力，加快恢復時間，由於在體內迅速排出，因此很難被發現。

In the court ruling explaining the decision to ban Ms. Valieva, the Russian figure skater who tested positive for the same substance, arbitrators referred to scientific studies that state TMZ “is widely recommended in elite sport in particular in support of the heart in connection with heavy training.”

俄羅斯花滑運動員瓦利耶娃對TMZ的檢測結果也呈陽性。在解釋對其禁賽決定的法庭裁決中，仲裁員引用了一些科學研究，指出TMZ「在精英體育運動中被廣泛推薦，特別是作為在大運動量訓練中對心臟的支持」。

Chinada’s testing lab reported finding only trace amounts of TMZ in the samples of its swimmers. But any amount is enough to register as a failed test and prompt an immediate temporary suspension except in the rarest circumstances — including the one explanation China offered.

中國反興奮劑中心的檢測實驗室報告稱，在其游泳運動員的樣本中僅發現了微量的TMZ。但任何數量的TMZ都足以被認定為檢測不合格，並被立即暫時停賽，除非是在最罕見的情況下，其中包括中國給出的那種解釋。

No such suspensions were imposed, no public disclosure was made, and the swimmers were able to go on to the Olympic qualifying meet months later, and then the Tokyo Games, without any attempts by WADA to block their participation. Had any of them been suspended even temporarily, that most likely would have endangered their ability to compete at the qualifying meet, not to mention subjecting China to international scrutiny and criticism.

沒有實施任何停賽處罰，也沒有進行任何公開披露，這些游泳運動員參加了幾個月後的奧運會預選賽，然後是東京奧運會，而世界反興奮劑組織並沒有試圖阻止他們參賽。如果他們中的任何人被禁賽，哪怕只是暫時的，也很可能會危及他們參加預選賽的能力，更不用說會讓中國受到國際監督和批評了。

Contrary to claims in the Chinada report, TMZ would not have been an unfamiliar drug in Chinese swimming circles. In 2014, the country’s greatest and most famous swimmer, the Olympic champion Sun Yang, was suspended for three months after testing positive for the drug at a major meet. (He is currently serving an eight-year doping ban from a different episode, which was reduced to four years on appeal.)

與中國反興奮劑中心報告中的說法相反，TMZ在中國游泳界並不是一種陌生的藥物。2014年，中國最偉大、最著名的游泳運動員、奧運冠軍孫楊在一次重要比賽中被檢測出TMZ陽性，被禁賽三個月。(他目前正因另一起事件被禁賽八年，後經上訴減為四年）。

This time, the testers collected positive results from an even larger group of Olympians, including such stars as:

這次，檢測人員甚至從更多奧運選手身上採集到了陽性結果，包括以下明星運動員：

• Ms. Zhang, who would go on to win four medals in Tokyo, including two golds, and help set a world record with her freestyle relay teammates

• 張雨霏，她後來在東京奧運會上奪得了四枚獎牌，包括兩枚金牌。她還幫助她的自由泳接力賽隊友們創下了世界紀錄

• Wang Shun, who in winning the 200 individual medley at the Olympics became only the second Chinese man to win an individual swimming gold

• 汪順，他在東京奧運會上奪得了200米個人混合泳冠軍，成為中國僅有的兩名在奧運會個人游泳項目上奪金的男運動員

• Qin Haiyang, who last year became the world-record holder in the 200-meter breaststroke

• 覃海洋，他在去年成為男子200米蛙泳世界記錄保持者

All would have been subject to testing at the Olympics, and there were no reports of positive results there.

這三人都會在參加奧運比賽期間接受藥檢，沒有他們在東京檢測陽性的報告。

The final report by the Chinese said investigators had discovered traces of TMZ in sink drains, spice containers and cooktop vents in the kitchen of the Huayang Holiday Hotel in Shijiazhuang, where most of the swimmers and coaches at the meet had stayed. But at no time did they claim to have found it in any food eaten by the swimmers.

中國人最終提交的報告稱，調查人員在參加比賽的大多數游泳運動員和教練入住的石家莊華陽假日酒店廚房的水槽下水管、香料容器，以及爐灶通風口處發現了微量的TMZ。但調查人員從未宣稱在游泳運動員吃的任何食物中發現過這種物質。

The report said that the Chinese investigators went so far as to conduct human experiments to see how the body processed TMZ. Video surveillance tapes were scoured. All of the athletes were questioned. But they did not identify where the drug came from or why it was in a kitchen.

報告稱，中國調查人員為觀察身體如何處理TMZ，甚至進行了人體實驗。他們仔細看了影片監控錄像，詢問了所有的運動員。但他們沒有確定違禁藥是從哪裡來的，也沒有說明它為什麼會出現在廚房裡。

There is also evidence that the Chinese antidoping authorities knew on March 15, 2021, the day they reported the positive tests, that they faced the possibility of having to publicly disclose the names of the swimmers. That day, the top legal official at Chinada wrote an email to her counterpart at the world swimming association that an “initial review and preliminary investigation shows that these are not normal” positive tests.

還有證據表明，中國的反興奮劑當局在2021年3月15日（即提交藥檢陽性結果報告的當天）就知道，他們面臨不得不將運動員的姓名公開出來的可能性。那天，中國反興奮劑中心的最高法律官員在發給她在世界游泳聯合會的同級官員的電子郵件中寫道，「初步審查和初步調查表明，這些不是一般的」陽性檢測結果。

“We are doing our best to conduct investigation on these cases at the moment,” the official, Lin Haiyan, wrote.

「我們目前正在對這些結果展開全力調查，」這位名叫林海燕（音）的官員寫道。

At the same time, Ms. Lin cited existing rules and asked that “in order to protect athletes’ privacy and cooperate with the investigation, please keep athletes’ information and the case strictly confidential until it is publicly disclosed by Chinada.”

同時，林女士在信中引用現行規定提出要求，「為了保護運動員的隱私，確保他們配合調查，請對運動員的信息和情況嚴格保密，直到中國反興奮劑當局公開披露為止。」

Emails obtained by The Times also show that by April 2021, at least two of WADA’s top officials — the most senior executive at the agency and its top legal officer — had been informed that the Chinese swimmers had tested positive.

時報獲得的電子郵件還顯示，到2021年4月時，至少兩名世界反興奮劑組織的高級官員——該機構的最高級官員和最高法律官員——已獲悉了中國游泳運動員的藥檢陽性結果。

In their report, filed in June 2021, Chinese investigators ruled out contaminated supplements or sabotage as reasons for the positive tests. They offered no explanation, however, for how a prescription drug available only in pill form had contaminated an entire kitchen.

中國調查人員在2021年6月提交的報告中排除了膳食補充劑受污染、或有人故意破壞是藥檢陽性的原因。但他們沒有解釋一種只能口服的處方藥如何污染了整個廚房。

WADA said “the contamination scenario was further supported” by the low concentrations of the drug and the fluctuation of test results between positive and negative.

世界反興奮劑組織說，樣品中藥物的濃度低，以及藥檢結果時而陽性、時而陰性的情況，「進一步支持了廚房受污染的情況」。

The Chinese pointed to low concentrations of TMZ in the urine samples to conclude intentional doping was “impossible.”

中國的報告指出尿液樣本中的TMZ濃度低，因此得出了「不可能」是故意服用興奮劑的結論。

That claim was rejected by five independent experts who discussed the matter with The Times. The low concentrations, they said, could just as easily have meant the athletes had been at the end of the excretion period for the drug.

這個說法遭到了時報就此事諮詢的五名獨立專家的駁斥。他們說，低濃度的另一種很可能的解釋是，運動員服用的藥物已處於排泄的末期。

According to antidoping rules, procedures that would lead to provisional suspensions for athletes found to have tested positive for the type of drug found in the Chinese swimmers’ samples could be waived only in the rarest circumstances and after meeting a high bar — usually only when accidental food contamination can be proven.

根據反興奮劑的規則，在中國游泳運動員的樣本中發現的那類藥物的陽性檢測結果，會導致啟動運動員被臨時禁賽的程序，該程序只是在最罕見的情況下、在滿足了很高的標準後才會被中止——通常只有在證明了食物被意外污染的情況下。

In that way, the theory advanced but not proved by the Chinese report — tainted food — offered a potential path to clearing the swimmers without punishment.

這給中國的報告提出但沒有給出證明的理論——食物被污染——提供了一條讓運動員在不受到懲罰的情況下被證明清白的潛在途徑。

The global antidoping system is in many ways built on trust, since WADA must rely on a network of national antidoping officials to police each country’s own athletes. The failure of national bodies to carry out their responsibilities, as the world found after revelations of a large-scale state-sponsored doping program orchestrated by Russia a decade ago, can corrupt entire sports and the results of the Olympic Games and other world championships.

全球的反興奮劑體系在很多方面建立在信任的基礎上，因為世界反興奮劑組織必須依靠各國反興奮劑官員網路來監管每個國家自己的運動員。正如十年前俄羅斯策劃的國家支持的大範圍服用興奮劑的行為曝光後，世界發現的那樣，一個國家的反興奮劑機構不履行其責任，能腐化整個體育項目以及奧運會和其他世界錦標賽的結果。

To reduce that risk, WADA is expected to step in whenever doubts emerge, or if national bodies appear to have favored their own athletes.

為了降低這種風險，只要有人提出懷疑，或如果國家的反興奮劑機構似乎偏袒本國運動員時，世界反興奮劑組織按理就該介入。

A large cluster of positive tests and an unusual claim of mass contamination through tainted food, then, might have merited a deeper, and independent, investigation.

這樣的話，集中出現的大量藥檢陽性結果，以及這種不尋常的說法——這些結果是眾多運動員吃了受污染食品造成的——可能原本值得進行更深入的獨立調查。

Word of the positive tests, though, began leaking out.

不過，藥檢結果陽性的消息開始洩漏出來。

The International Testing Agency received whistle-blower evidence about the episode around the same time as the Tokyo Olympic Games, and later did its own examination that challenged China’s findings.

在舉行東京奧運會的大約同一時間，國際檢測機構收到了舉報上述事件的有關證據，該機構隨後進行了自己的調查，對中國的調查結果提出了質疑。

“In parallel to a full assessment of the information received that remains active, the I.T.A. conducted many targeted follow-up testing missions in 2021, 2022, 2023 and up until today,” the agency said in a statement.

這家簡稱ITA的機構在一份聲明中寫道，「在對收到的仍然有效的信息進行全面評估的同時，ITA已在2021年、2022年、2023年，乃至今日，進行了多次有針對性的後續檢測任務。」

In the United States, antidoping officials collected and passed on multiple tips to WADA from its own whistle-blowers, who accused China of covering up not just the nearly two dozen tests in question. Some of the swimmers identified by the whistle-blowers matched those who tested positive.

美國的反興奮劑官員收到了舉報人提交的多條舉報，並將它們轉交給了世界反興奮劑組織。舉報人指責中國不只是掩蓋了20多個存在問題的藥檢結果。舉報人給出姓名的幾名游泳運動員與報告中藥檢陽性的人相符。

In response to one tip passed on by the Americans, World Anti-Doping Agency officials told their U.S. agency counterpart that “they remember the allegations quite well,” that they held “the same intelligence in the summer of 2021” and that “there was no impetus for WADA to investigate,” USADA said in response to questions from the The Times.

世界反興奮劑組織官員在收到美國人轉交的一項舉報後告訴美國反興奮劑組織官員，「他們對這些指控記得很清楚」，他們掌握著「2021年夏天的相同情報」，但「沒有推動世界反興奮劑機構進行調查的動力」，美國反興奮劑機構在回答時報記者的提問時表示。

That decision bothered several scientists and experts with years of experience on sports doping cases who were interviewed by The Times. They all rejected the Chinese report’s claim that low concentrations of the drug found in athletes’ samples meant that intentional doping was all but impossible, but were divided over the possibility that contamination was the most likely cause of the positive tests.

這一決定讓時報採訪的幾名擁有多年體育興奮劑案件經驗的科學家和專家們感到不安。雖然他們都拒絕接受中國報告的說法，即運動員樣本中發現的低濃度藥物意味著故意使用興奮劑幾乎是不可能的，但他們在污染是最可能導致藥檢陽性的原因的可能性上存在不同意見。

David Cowan, one of the world’s leading experts on drugs in sports and the former longtime director of Britain’s WADA-accredited laboratory, said he could not come to a conclusion on whether there had been “a contamination or a pharmacologically effective dose.”

體育運動興奮劑方面的世界頂級專家之一戴維·考恩曾長期擔任世界反興奮劑組織認可的英國實驗室主任，他說，他無法就是否「發生了污染，或（服用了）藥理上有效劑量」的藥物得出結論。

But even the experts’ discord revealed a common thread: They all agreed that the high number of positives in one place and the stakes — for China, for the antidoping movement, and for the looming Tokyo and Beijing Olympic Games — should have prompted WADA or World Aquatics to act far more aggressively.

但即使是專家們存在的分歧也揭示了一個共同點：他們都一致認為，在一個地方得到了大量的陽性結果，以及這些結果對中國、對反興奮劑運動，以及對不久召開的東京和北京奧運會的利害關係本該促使世界反興奮劑組織或世界游泳運動聯合會採取更加積極的行動。

What is known is that WADA’s own data shows a spike in the number of TMZ cases in 2021. A year earlier, there had been only three positive tests worldwide. A year later, there were 18. But in 2021, there were 37.

已知的是，世界反興奮劑組織自己的數據顯示，2021年檢測出TMZ陽性結果激增。2020年，全球範圍內只檢測到三例TMZ陽性結果。2022年檢測的陽性結果是18例。但2021年檢測的陽性結果是37例。

David Howman, a former director general of WADA, said he had seen the Chinada report. He described the situation as “shocking.”

世界反興奮劑組織前總幹事戴維·豪曼說，他看過中國反興奮劑中心的報告。他把中國的情況描述為「令人震驚」。

“My concern is intense,” said Mr. Howman, who is now the chairman of track and field’s independent antidoping body, the Athletics Integrity Unit. Important processes that should have been followed after the discovery of the positive tests, he said, appeared not to have been.

「我十分擔心，」豪曼說，他現在是田徑運動的獨立反興奮劑機構田徑誠信組織的主席。他說，發現藥檢陽性結果後本該遵循的重要程序似乎並未遵循。

“What it would say to me immediately is that perhaps there was some form of program in this sport to ‘prepare’ swimmers for the Tokyo Olympics,” Mr. Howman said.

「那種結果立刻給我的印象是，也許這項運動中有某種形式的讓游泳運動員為東京奧運『做準備』的計劃，」豪曼說。

Mr. Howman spoke in an interview on the sidelines of an annual symposium hosted by WADA in Lausanne, Switzerland. On its final night, the organization held a gala evening bringing together more than 1,000 officials to celebrate 25 years in existence.

豪曼是在世界反興奮劑組織在瑞士洛桑舉行的年度研討會間隙接受採訪的。在研討會的最後一晚，該組織舉辦了一場盛大晚會，1000多名官員齊聚一堂，慶祝該機構成立25週年。

Celebratory speeches were made, including one by Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee. In it, he lauded WADA’s role in taking on drug cheats.

許多人在晚會上發表了賀詞，包括國際奧委會主席托馬斯·巴赫。他在賀詞中讚揚了世界反興奮劑組織在打擊比賽作弊方面所起的作用。