EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
ADAM PEATY is smarting for a fight in and out of the pool and has accused swimming governing body FINA of “taking the piss” in its handling of the Sun Yang doping case on the eve of the World Championships.
Chinese swimmer Yang, a three-time Olympic champion who served a doping ban in 2014, avoided no more than a rebuke from a confidential FINA panel after being involved in a vial being smashed when drugs testers called at his home last September.
Th e Wo rl d A n t i-D o p i n g Age n c y (WADA) appealed the ruling to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, with the case not set to be held until September at the earliest — more than a year after the testers’ visit — leaving Yang free to compete in the 200, 400 and 800metre freestyle in Gwangju, South Korea.
Peaty told Standard Sport: “They’re taking the piss with doping, just look at Sun Yang and the broken vial. Imagine if a British person did that. They’d be ridiculed — and rightly so. If I see him i n Ko re a , I w o n ’ t b e m o v i n g my shoulders for him, if you know what I mean.
“Athletes that dope are creating fraud. You should go to prison, the police should be involved. It’s like a CEO getting a job with no experience. It’s just cheating and people are saying it’s still okay for him to come back after doping offences. He’s swimming rapidly at the moment and you know why.”
Peaty is bidding to defend both his 50 and 100m breaststroke world titles, as well as eclipse his two world records, starting with the 100m on Sunday.
But as well as remaining the dominant force in his discipline, he has become one of the most outspoken voices in the sport.
“I saw this spreadsheet from a good source showing that FINA are the worst for transparency, worse than FIFA even,” he said. “There’s no transparency — and you can get corruption when there’s no transparency. Where’s the money going? We don’t know, but it’s not to the athletes.
“Some athletes shut their mouth and play along. That’s just not me. I think athletes have a more powerful message when they stand their ground and inspire others to speak up. When I see something wrong in the sport, which there clearly is, I