Chinese swimmers dope-tested the most ahead of World Aquatics Championships
From Jan 1, Chinese swimmers had an average of 8.8 anti-doping tests.
HONG KONG – Chinese swimmers took more anti-doping tests in 2025 than swimmers from any other country ahead of the July 11-Aug 3 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, the Aquatics Integrity Unit said in a report.
From Jan 1, Chinese swimmers had an average of 8.8 anti-doping tests versus those from the United States who were tested 4.1 times and those from Britain who were tested 2.2 times, the report showed.
Swimmers competing as neutrals – mainly those with Russian nationality – were tested 8.2 times on average.
In total the Aquatics Integrity Unit conducted 4,018 anti-doping tests on athletes participating in the Singapore event.
'The report underscores World Aquatics unwavering commitment to fair competition and the highest standards of integrity in aquatic sport,' it said.
The China Swimming Association did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
China's swimming team has faced heightened scrutiny since revelations in April 2024 that 23 swimmers had tested positive for a banned heart medication in 2021 but were permitted to compete in the Tokyo Olympics that year.
Top stories
Swipe. Select. Stay informed.
Singapore Singapore to train more aviation and maritime officials from around the world
Singapore Special edition SG60 Nets card now on sale for $10
Singapore 18 years' jail for woman who hacked adoptive father to death after tussle over Sengkang flat
Business Singapore's economy sees surprise expansion in Q2 despite US tariff uncertainty: Advance estimate
Singapore Jail, caning for man who had 285 child porn videos, including those showing infants
Singapore Jail for woman who opened bank accounts that received over $640.7m, including scam proceeds
Singapore Driver assisting with police probe after e-bike rider injured in hit-and-run in Hougang
Sport After Olympic heartbreak, Singaporean swimmer Chantal Liew turns pain into inspiration
Of the 23, Zhang Yufei, Wang Shun and Yang Junxuan won gold in Tokyo, while Qin Haiyang took home a gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Eleven of the 23 were selected for the Paris Games.
The World Anti-Doping Agency accepted the findings of a Chinese investigation that the results were due to contamination from a hotel kitchen. An independent review backed the World Anti-Doping Agency's handling of the case.
Testing will remain in force until the end of the event, with 830 samples to be collected during 24 days of competition, the Aquatics Integrity Unit said.
China's male freestyle sprinter Wang Haoyu was tested 13 times, while 200 metre breaststroke world record holder Qin Haiyang was tested 12 times, the report showed. REUTERS
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
19 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Then and now: Days of being wild in Singapore
Find out what's new on ST website and app. Whether 1845 or 2025, some things in Singapore never change. Snippets on how we reported them then and now. Workers removing the body of Twiggy, a black panther, from an underground drain near the Singapore Turf Club. The animal had escaped from the Singapore Zoo in March 1973. In 2023, retail manager Durga Devi was walking back to her Bukit Panjang home when a wild boar charged at her. The animal attacked her four times, flinging her from side to side before tossing her onto the road, The Straits Times reported. A passing jogger rushed to help. She survived the attack but had to undergo multiple operations in what doctors described as one of the worst boar attacks they had seen. Animal encounters, whether wild or captive, have long fascinated the public. In March 1973, Twiggy the panther escaped from the Singapore Zoo. For 11 months, it roamed the island before it was found dead in an underground drain near the Singapore Turf Club. A policeman advising pupils from Sembawang Hills Estate School to stay away from the jungle, as a panther that escaped from the Singapore Zoo had been spotted nearby. Two troops of Reserve Unit officers on duty and three police dogs were ordered to the scene in March 1973. PHOTO: ST FILE Two years later, in 1975, the police were on the alert for yet another panther, this one prowling the Tampines area after it was brought into Singapore illegally by an animal trader and escaped. The female cat was eventually captured in Tanjong Rhu. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore HSA intensifies crackdown on vapes; young suspected Kpod peddlers nabbed in Bishan, Yishun Singapore Man charged over distributing nearly 3 tonnes of vapes in one day in Bishan, Ubi Avenue 3 Singapore Public healthcare institutions to record all Kpod cases, confiscate vapes: MOH, HSA Singapore Man allegedly attacks woman with knife at Kallang Wave Mall, to be charged with attempted murder Singapore Singapore boosts support for Timor-Leste as it prepares to join Asean Singapore UN aviation and maritime agencies pledge to collaborate to boost safety, tackle challenges Singapore High Court dismisses appeal of drink driver who killed one after treating Tampines road like racetrack Singapore 18 years' jail for woman who hacked adoptive father to death after tussle over Sengkang flat 'PANTHER CAPTURED', the headline screamed on the front page on July 4, 1975. '24-day reign of terror ends with three shots from tranquilliser gun'. The panther had been spotted in the fuel tank of a ship under construction in Tanjong Rhu. It was captured by zoo officials while shipyard workers stood by to gawp at the drama. From prowling panthers to rampaging boars, sightings of animals on the loose have long made headlines, underscoring the tension between urban development and natural habitats. A dive into The Straits Times' archives reveals a much wilder Singapore in the past, when tigers were a terror. By the mid-19th century, Singapore had gained a grim reputation for tiger attacks. Historian C.M. Turnbull wrote in A History Of Modern Singapore 1819-2005 that tigers were said to carry off a victim a day. A report on Dec 11, 1855, which chronicled the deaths of an agricultural labourer and a coolie, lamented: 'How often are we compelled to record such verdicts. It reflects the greatest shame upon the Supreme Government that effectual means are not employed to relieve our dense jungles of ferocious Tigers.' Tiger hunting became common, with rewards offered for kills. In 1864, a reader named Carnie wrote in, describing how he had shot a tigress during an expedition before 'she could make another spring'. The menace extended to islands such as Pulau Ubin where a tiger killed two men in 1874. Those who killed tigers would sometimes take the carcasses to police stations to claim rewards, as Changi residents Ali and Mahomed did in 1898, when they hauled a dead tiger to the Rochore Police Station. The last reported shooting of a wild tiger in Singapore was in Choa Chu Kang in October 1930. But even in 1951, a tiger hunt was mounted near the Causeway after a sighting. 'It is believed that recent heavy RAF (the British Royal Air Force) bombing in south Johor may have driven the tiger out of the jungle and over the Causeway,' The Straits Times reported. Today, as the city becomes more built-up, animal sightings are rising again, though they are not in the league of tigers and panthers. In March 2025, The Straits Times reported a 55 per cent increase in calls to the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society between 2019 and 2024. The hotline received 15,203 calls in 2024 – up from 9,800 in 2019 – and now deals with an average of 10 cases a day. Among the animals rescued: mynahs, pigeons, pythons, civets, monitor lizards and wild boars. A wild boar spotted in Lorong Halus on Jan 12, 2021. ST PHOTO: DESMOND FOO Straits Times assistant news editor Audrey Tan, 34 , who oversees environmental coverage, says Singapore now has experts with deep knowledge about certain wildlife species. Studies have also been done on why some animals, such as critically endangered pangolins, venture into urban areas. All this has made coverage about wildlife more nuanced, she says. Nature provides many benefits to urban dwellers, from the cooling effect of trees to the rest offered by parks and nature reserves, and reporting has evolved to highlight these intangible aspects, she adds. Singapore is also slowly embracing nature in its land use plans – which is only a good thing. From corals to armoured pangolins, otters to once-extinct hornbills, the natural world is an inescapable part of Singapore's urban cityscape, down to people's own backyards.
Straits Times
23 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Singapore's sports odyssey, from amateur games at the Padang to Olympic triumphs
Weightlifter Tan Howe Liang (left) was Singapore's first medallist at the Olympics, clinching a silver at the 1960 Rome Games. It took the Republic another 56 years before it finally struck gold, courtesy of swimmer Joseph Schooling at the 2016 edition in Rio de Janeiro. SINGAPORE - Worn and faded though they may be, these ordinary objects at the Singapore Sports Museum at the Sports Hub would tell extraordinary stories if they could speak. The shuttlecocks with frayed feathers, for instance, helped Wong Peng Soon to his four All England titles in the 1950s. Chee Swee Lee's blue spike shoes from 1974 are torn and faded. That was the year she won an improbable 400m gold at the Asian Games in Tehran, becoming Singapore's first female Asiad champion. A white singlet, still pristine, clad the late weightlifter Tan Howe Liang, who won Singapore's first Olympic medal, a silver, in Rome in 1960. However, even if these artefacts cannot speak, the feats they bore testament to were covered in glorious detail in the pages of The Straits Times. News of Chee's victory ran on the front page on Sept 16, 1974, with the report noting that the publication's switchboard was flooded for the result long before her race even took place. Chee Swee Lee's blue spike shoes and medals at the Singapore Sports Museum at the Sports Hub, and the story about her victory that ran on the front page on Sept 16, 1974. PHOTOS: ST FILE, JONATHAN WONG A last-minute cramp that almost derailed Tan's Olympic medal bid was retold in a behind-the-scenes article titled ' The 'miracle' in Rome' . Wong's breakthrough All England triumph in 1950 made the front page on March 5 under the succinct headline 'Wong wins title'. In the years that followed, more pages were devoted to his achievements. Badminton player Wong Peng Soon, seen here in the Thomas Cup finals in 1955, was one of Singapore's early sports stars. He won the prestigious All England Championships four times. PHOTO: ST FILE When he announced his retirement on July 15, 1955, the publication paid tribute to his legacy and 'a life of almost spartan severity' in which he played each stroke 'thousands of times till perfection was acquired and the grace of an artist was added'. Until Wong's rise in badminton, beginning in the late 1930s, however, The Straits Times in its early days paid only modest attention to sport. Wong Peng Soon's shuttlecocks and badminton racket, on display at the Singapore Sports Museum at the Sports Hub. ST PHOTO: JONATHAN WONG This, even though the history of organised sport in Singapore dated back to 1826 when the country's first sports club was founded – the Singapore Yacht Club. The first known organised game, cricket in this case, was played in 1837 by the British at the Padang, then known as the Plain. Such was cricket's popularity that it made its way into The Straits Times on July 29, 1846, a year after the publication's founding. A small announcement on Page 2 reported an upcoming match between 'Young Singapore and the military gents'. It was one of the first mentions of sport in the publication, an unheralded introduction to what would become some of the better-read pages. When Singapore's football team defeated Selangor to win the inaugural Malaya Cup on Oct 1, 1921, it was reported only two days later in a single column on Page 10. The front page that Monday was instead filled with advertisements for 'pure Devonshire cyder' and 'pure beef dripping'. Wong's success on the international stage, however, fired up the country. Support began to increase for home-grown talent. The first South East Asian Peninsular (Seap) Games held in Bangkok in 1959 gave local athletes a platform and brought them into the public eye, in an era when amateur sportsmen and women aspired to bring glory to Singapore. As Tan told a reporter many years after his Olympic success: 'I'm no hero. I was just a keen young man eager to win for my country in the Olympics.' While Tan stayed grounded, Singapore began to dream bigger. Three years after his Olympic breakthrough, the Government announced plans for a National Stadium in Kallang. It would eventually cost $50 million and open in July 1973, just in time to be the centrepiece when Singapore hosted the Seap Games for the first time soon afterwards. 'Sheares opens Seap Games' ran the front-page headline on Sept 2, with photographs of the fully packed 50,000-seater stadium and the colourful opening ceremony graced by then President Benjamin Sheares filling pages. A new generation of athletes, such as track runner C. Kunalan and swimmer Patricia Chan, were also becoming household names in post-independence Singapore. It was not just their sporting exploits at home and on the international stage that were regularly chronicled and celebrated. Post-retirement, Chan directed and sang in her own musical which The Straits Times c overed in its entertainment pages while Kunalan's wedding in 1966 also made the news. Singapore sprinter C. Kunalan was chosen to light the cauldron at the newly opened National Stadium during the opening ceremony of the 1973 Seap Games. It was the first time the country was hosting the event. PHOTO: ST FILE Growing up as a football fan in the 1980s and into the 1990s, when most games were not telecast live, Mr Paul Antony Fernandez, 59, a part-time security officer, relied on The Straits Times for reports of the lead-up to matches, the matches themselves, and – most crucially – the scores. 'There was no internet in those days,' says Mr Fernandez. 'Any news we wanted about the Lions, we got it through the newspaper. If there was a match on Saturday, I would make it a point from Wednesday morning to get The Straits Times and The New Paper every day to find out who's injured, who's playing. Everything about the team.' His wedding in 1994 took place on Dec 17, the very day the Lions were playing Pahang in the Malaysia Cup final at Shah Alam Stadium in Selangor. To ensure that his guests – many of them die-hard football fans like himself – would turn up for the wedding dinner at the former Great Eastern Hotel in MacPherson, he hooked up his parents' 17-inch Nordmende colour TV in the wedding hall. Just like those Lions fans, The Straits Times did not hold back on the euphoria when Singapore won that final, 4-0. The photo of the triumphant captain, Fandi Ahmad, holding the trophy aloft, was accompanied by the headline 'Lions crowned soccer kings' on the next day's front page while the sports section was filled with more stories and graphics recreating two of the goals. Abbas Saad saluting Lions supporters at the Shah Alam Stadium after Singapore beat Pahang 4-0 to win the Malaysia Cup in 1994. PHOTO: ST FILE It was the Republic's first Malaysia Cup win since 1980 – that victory came with the front-page title 'A night to remember' – and also its last, as the Football Association of Singapore decided to withdraw from the competition in 1995. In a column headlined 'A special first in the techno-era of Cup', the sports desk's Yap Koon Hong proudly – and perhaps prematurely – declared: 'It is not hard to see why the Lions can drop defeat from their vocabulary like, well, a bad habit.' Despite football's ups and downs, the turn of the century marked a golden era for Singapore sport. From 2002 to 2006, Singapore won 44 Asian Games medals, only slightly less than half the number it had won in the previous 50 years. Then came a breakthrough team silver in women's table tennis at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the nation's first Summer Games medal since Tan Howe Liang in 1960. Two more Olympic medals followed in London 2012, thanks again to Feng Tianwei and her fellow table tennis players, before the defining moment for the country: swimmer Joseph Schooling's historic gold medal at Rio 2016 . Besides extensive coverage of Schooling's Olympic campaign in print, The Straits Times – in a sign of the online age – would add a gold medal to the masthead of its Facebook profile. It also produced several interactive graphics about the butterfly specialist, with one winning an Award of Excellence at the US-based Society for News Design's annual competition. As Schooling told the world's media after his race in Rio de Janeiro: 'Even people from the smallest countries in the world can do extraordinary things.' Indeed, the little red dot continues to punch above its weight. Yip Pin Xiu's dominance in the pool with seven Paralympic gold medals and counting, Loh Kean Yew becoming a badminton world champion, Shanti Pereira's 200m Asian Games gold, and Maximilian Maeder's kitefoiling bronze at Paris 2024 have all elevated Singapore sport to greater heights. Shanti Pereira's victory in the 200m final at the Hangzhou Asian Games in October 2023 was a breakthrough moment. It was Singapore's first athletics gold medal since 1974, when Chee Swee Lee won the women's 400m. ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG In all these triumphs, The Straits Times has had a front-row seat, telling the stories of sacrifice, hard work and perseverance. These stories became a nation's, too.
Straits Times
23 minutes ago
- Straits Times
The Straits Times: what it means to be a trusted voice for Singapore in a changing world
ST has a role to play as a unifying force beyond its mission of being the chronicler of the Singapore Story. The following is an edited speech by Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong at The Straits Times' 180th anniversary dinner on July 11. I am delighted to join all of you this evening for a truly remarkable milestone – the 180th anniversary of The Straits Times. Not many organisations endure for 180 years – let alone in the fast-changing media world. That The Straits Times has done so speaks volumes about its relevance, its resilience, and its remarkable ability to evolve. It began in 1845 as an eight-page English weekly – then called The Straits Times and Journal of Commerce – catering to the European community in colonial Singapore. Today it is the oldest English-language newspaper in East Asia – older than even global titles like The New York Times and the Daily Mail. It has built up a loyal readership across generations – in Singapore and around the world. The Straits Times has chronicled every chapter of the Singapore Story. Through the colonial era. Through our battles against communism and communalism. Through Merger, Separation, and the struggles of early independence. And through our nation-building journey – reflecting both our achievements and the many challenges and trials we have overcome, from economic downturns to terrorist threats and pandemics. As our newspaper of record, you have not only reported the events of our time. You have also captured the spirit of every generation – our hopes, our fears and our aspirations. And you have never stood still. You have embraced change and innovation – experimenting with new formats and technologies, adopting digital tools and online platforms, and rethinking how stories are told. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore HSA intensifies crackdown on vapes; young suspected Kpod peddlers nabbed in Bishan, Yishun Singapore Man charged over distributing nearly 3 tonnes of vapes in one day in Bishan, Ubi Avenue 3 Singapore Public healthcare institutions to record all Kpod cases, confiscate vapes: MOH, HSA Singapore Man allegedly attacks woman with knife at Kallang Wave Mall, to be charged with attempted murder Singapore Singapore boosts support for Timor-Leste as it prepares to join Asean Singapore UN aviation and maritime agencies pledge to collaborate to boost safety, tackle challenges Singapore High Court dismisses appeal of drink driver who killed one after treating Tampines road like racetrack Singapore 18 years' jail for woman who hacked adoptive father to death after tussle over Sengkang flat And so The Straits Times has become more than just a newspaper. You are a trusted voice for Singapore – explaining the issues of the day, helping us make sense of a complex world, connecting Singaporeans to global developments, and carrying Singapore's perspectives beyond our shores. That is why I was heartened to learn that the Reuters Institute had recently ranked The Straits Times as the most trusted news brand in Singapore. This is no small feat – it is a strong affirmation of your integrity and professionalism, and your commitment to credible, quality journalism. So tonight, we honour all who have contributed to this remarkable legacy – past and present. Your efforts have shaped The Straits Times into the national institution it is today. Congratulations and thank you all for your contributions! Navigating the Next Bound Of course, a significant milestone like this is not just a reason to celebrate; it is also an occasion to look forward – and reflect on what lies ahead. Over the past decades, the media landscape has gone through multiple revolutions – from the age of print to radio and television, to the rise of the internet and now the era of social media. Each wave brought significant disruptions, but also new opportunities and possibilities. Today the pace of change is faster than ever. News is no longer confined to broadsheets or the evening bulletin. It flows 24/7 across apps, platforms and borders – and it is consumed in a range of formats, or even summarised by AI. Audiences are no longer passive consumers. Because anyone can be a content creator. And with so many options, people expect content tailored to their interests, delivered in their format of choice. So around the world, including Singapore, we see these trends taking hold. Fewer people turn to print newspapers or TV for news and current affairs. More are getting their updates from digital and social media platforms. This is true for all of us. I have experienced these changes myself. Like all of you, many Singaporeans, I grew up with The Straits Times at home. As a boy, I did not pay much attention to the main stories or the editorials – I went straight to the comics and sports pages. But habits do change. Especially after I started working, I started reading more; perhaps, I got more interested in news and current affairs because of work requirements too. But then, reading the newspapers became a daily ritual. I would spend half an hour or more each morning reading The Straits Times cover to cover. And I would enjoy doing that. Look forward to it every morning. But over the last decade or so, with the rise of social media, my reading habits have changed yet again. Today, I still read The Straits Times, but not the printed edition. I access everything from the app either on my tablet or phone, and I keep up with breaking news through the day. And I must confess, The Straits Times is no longer my only morning companion. I have many others. I access current affairs and news from a variety of sources – both local and international. I follow commentary from individuals writing on Substack, I listen to podcasts, I watch video clips on YouTube. So it is a much more varied information diet. I am sure my experience is not unique. I suspect it is true for many others. So what does this mean for The Straits Times? Your competition is global. You are competing not just with other traditional media outlets, but also with the best content creators worldwide, and everything else on people's screens, for their time and attention. And you have to adapt to this new media environment. Your key strength is your deep and consistent coverage of Singapore, and our region, South-east Asia. So in matters of national importance – whether it is a crisis like Covid-19, or major events like the general election – people still turn to you as the trusted source of information, and your direct readership goes up. But even at other times, much of what circulates online still originates from your reports. This credibility is a real asset and competitive advantage. But as media consumption habits evolve, so must you. You will need to keep adapting, both the news products you generate, and also how you reach and engage your audiences. This will not be easy. Adapting to these shifts will involve tough choices. There will be trade-offs to manage, including the risk of cannibalising existing formats, or disrupting longstanding work processes. For example, to stay relevant, you will need to experiment with how content is presented across different platforms. This means rethinking how different formats can best serve diverse audience needs. I believe there will still be a place for print, and we should all do our best to keep print newspapers viable in Singapore for as long as possible. But 10 years from now, the printed Straits Times may well look quite different from what it is today – in style, tone and length. It has to be different, if it is to remain relevant and useful to future readers. What changes should you make in order to stay relevant? Ultimately, only The Straits Times itself can make this call – weighing the opportunities, managing the risks, and evolving in a way that stays true to your mission, while meeting the changing needs of your readers. The Government is not in a position to prescribe the solution, nor will I attempt to do so. But let me offer three broad reflections on what The Straits Times can continue to do to stay relevant in this new media environment. A trusted source First, build on your strengths as a trusted anchor for Singaporeans. Even as reader preferences become more diverse and fragmented, we will need trusted and unbiased source of information. In today's digital environment it is easy to fall into echo chambers, or be fed only what algorithms think we want to see. Singapore needs trusted media that continue to present balanced perspectives, surface different points of view, and hold meaningful conversations – so that we can better understand one another and develop a common understanding of the world. The Straits Times must remain such a unifying force – helping Singaporeans make sense of complex issues, bridging divides, and fostering a shared identity and sense of purpose. Quality matters Second, keep quality at the core of everything you do. Formats may evolve, but quality content never goes out of style. It is not true that people only want short videos or clickbait headlines. Succinct, timely reports will be an important news product. But long-form writing and deep-dive analysis can still draw loyal audiences, but provided the content is of high quality, insightful and well crafted. The temptation will be to chase eyeballs with sensational news. But that is not the path to building trust. In an age of misinformation, The Straits Times must continue to anchor public discourse with clear exposition and reliable facts. Delivering all this consistently requires you to have a strong and capable team – across editorial, production, technical, and business functions. You will need not only professional expertise, but also a clear sense of mission – and the energy and creativity to thrive in a very challenging industry. Your success will not be measured by the size of your profits. But by the trust you earn, the audiences you reach and the impact you make. And to do all these, you must offer competitive career paths and purposeful job responsibilities – to attract resourceful and enterprising young people to join you and help take The Straits Times forward. A Singaporean lens Third, speak with a Singaporean voice to the world. Today, Singaporeans can access news from countless sources. But they turn to The Straits Times for uniquely Singaporean perspectives – that reflect our values, our interests, and our place in the world. You help readers – here and abroad – make sense of global trends through a Singapore lens. As a small country navigating a complex and uncertain world, we need strong, credible institutions that can analyse clearly, explain deeply, and advocate confidently for Singapore's interests. And this is the role that The Straits Times must continue to fulfil. Supporting trusted public media Of course, delivering on this mission requires resources. The business model for quality journalism unfortunately, is coming under strain everywhere in the world. Newsrooms across the world are shrinking and many outlets have become captive to commercial interests. We cannot allow that to happen in Singapore. We do not want our national newspaper to be owned by billionaires with narrow or partisan agendas. Nor do we want public trust in the media to be eroded. That is why the Government is stepping in to support public service media in Singapore – to ensure that quality journalism remains viable, independent and accountable to Singaporeans. And for its part, The Straits Times must make full use of the government support you are receiving to produce a high-quality newspaper for all Singaporeans – one that informs, educates, connects, and holds our society together. And you have our full confidence and support in this mission. So now, more than ever, Singapore needs trusted media – to help us navigate a more complex world, to discern fact from falsehood, and to build common ground in an age of rapid change and complexity. I am heartened to see The Straits Times pressing on – evolving with the times, embracing innovation and staying true to your mission. Tonight, as we celebrate your 180th anniversary, we also launch your new app and website – another step forward in your continuing digital transformation. So finally, congratulations, once again, to everyone at The Straits Times on this milestone. On behalf of all Singaporeans, thank you for 180 years of dedicated service. May you continue to inform, inspire and speak for Singapore – for many more years to come!
