Furious Campbell wants testing overhaul after Sun Yang doping scandal

April 10, 2019 By BLOGDAELLI

Cate Campbell says she would stake her reputation on the cleanliness of every Australian swimmer as she called for a review of testing protocols in the wake of the Sun Yang doping scandal.

The sprint star is in Adelaide for the Australian Swimming Championships, beginning on Sunday, and will take to the water as she continues preparations for the FINA World Championships in Korea in July.

And while Sun's great rival Mack Horton has largely steered clear of the latest doping concern involving the Chinese superstar and triple Olympic champion, Campbell has called for an overhaul of testing procedures after a farcical scenario that saw Sun alleged to have smashed a vial of his drawn blood with a hammer before it could be taken away for analysis.

Sun was initially cleared by a FINA doping panel, which determined there was insufficient evidence to sanction him, but the matter has since been referred by WADA to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Sun's career is at stake should he be found to be in breach.

Campbell told Seven that she was convinced Australia's elite swimmers were playing by the rules and nobody would fear an increased testing presence from doping authorities.

"I am 100% certain that all of the swimmers in Australia are clean.. I would put my name behind any of them but I think that globally there needs to be more investigation," Campbell said. "There are some very, very strong questions that need to be asked about the doping situation, especially where it pertains to Sun Yang."

Campbell has emerged as an outspoken advocate for clean sport and fair play among senior swimmers and has been at loggerheads with FINA, the sport's heavily criticised governing body, after it threatened to ban athletes if they swam in the rival International Swimming League.

That has since been resolved but Campbell said FINA's credibility was at stake if it didn't step up to the plate on doping matters.

"We need to revisit how we test for doping because clearly what we are doing isn’t good enough. Let's not forget that Sun Yang has already tested positive to a banned substance," Campbell said. "It makes me incredibly angry and it raises some really serious questions that demand answers if WADA and FINA want to remain credible in the world of clean sport."

The Championships run until next Friday and have already seen a high-profile withdrawal, with Horton resting a shoulder injury rather than push too hard ahead of the World Championships later in the year.

The national titles are a non-selection meet so Horton was content to play it safe. Other top swimmers will be at different stages of training but Dolphins coach Jacco Verhaeren expects their competitive instincts to kick in once the racing begins.

"You are always looking for good times but we understand they are in various stages of their preparation. What we do want to see is that competitive edge, because that’s what we need to practice more often," Verhaeren said.

"We don’t expect them in peak form. It’s not the end of the world if they don’t race too fast but you want to see some big efforts, especially head-to-head."

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