Zhang Yufei hopes her international rivals will believe she is competing clean after the Chinese swimming star estimates she took between 20 and 30 drug tests monthly in the lead-up to the Paris Olympics.
I don't think there's a single athlete, Chinese or foreign, who would test positive for doping. They would not want to destroy all the hard work they've put in over the years on doping, Zhang told reporters in the mixed zone Saturday when she was the top qualifier for the 100-meter butterfly final.
She won her preliminary race in 56.50 seconds during the first day of the swimming competition at Paris La Defense Arena. She said afterwards she is anxious about what her friends and competitors in the swimming world are thinking about Zhang and others from the Chinese team.
Zhang said she and her teammates have tested three to four days a week in the past couple of months leading up to the Paris Games and in the wake of a doping scandal involving 23 Chinese swimmers including Zhang .