Doping in China
Overview of doping in China / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), conducted a state-sanctioned doping programme on athletes in the 1980s and 1990s. The majority of revelations of Chinese doping have focused on swimmers[1] and track and field athletes, such as Ma Junren's Ma Family Army (馬家軍).[2] However, doping is reported to also occur for fitness tests as part of the zhongkao.[3][4]
More recently, three Chinese weightlifters have been stripped of their gold Olympic medals for doping at the 2008 Summer Olympics.[5]
China's doping has been attributed to a number of factors, such as the exchange of culture and technology with foreign countries.[6] Some commentators have compared it to the doping programme in East Germany.[7] Discussion of doping scandals involving Chinese athletes in international sports is widely censored in China.[8]