SAINT-DENIS -- Two-time Olympic breaststroke champion Adam Peaty has called for a radical change to the way the sport runs anti-doping, adding that it is "heartbreaking" to lose to athletes he suspects are cheating.
The Olympic swimming event has been staged against the backdrop of Chinese anti-doping scandal in which swimmers who have previously tested positive for banned substances have been allowed to race without punishment.
"I think it's very complicated because sport is unfortunately political," Peaty told LBC. "We all know that. I think the Olympics is very political, and we have to be very careful that we don't paint a whole nation with one brush, but also that we set a punishment for those people who have cheated and it's very blatant.
"I know how many times I test in a month. I know who does it -- UKAD, which is in the UK. They're responsible for all the athletes [in the country] but also ITA [the International Testing Agency] on behalf of World Aquatics. Is that model outdated? I believe so. Giving each nation their own responsibility and trust in that nation to test their own athletes. It's bizarre. We should have a full, decentralised testing agency that tests everyone fairly, and I think people should be able to view it.
"I think the public who are watching the sport and the athletes taking part should be able to view how many times people are tested and potentially along the way, some of the results of those tests.
"Why not? I'd be happy to share my results, for example. So yes, a very long-winded answer... but I want to play fair. I swim fair. I know how hard I work to get here, and I want to protect the next four years, eight years, the next generation of athletes coming through because there is nothing more heartbreaking than losing to someone who we know is cheating."
A total of 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for a banned substance before Tokyo 2020, although they were all allowed to compete. The positive tests first came to light after a bombshell report from the New York Times and German broadcaster ARD.
A Chinese investigation later said the swimmers had consumed food that had been contaminated. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accepted that result.
Of the Chinese swimmers who tested positive before Tokyo, 11 competed in Paris, including men's breaststroker Qin Haiyang.
Haiyang was billed as Peaty's main rival in the 100-metre breaststroke, although the event was eventually won by Italy's Nicolò Martinenghi, with Peaty taking joint-silver and Haiyang surprisingly finishing in seventh.
China won 12 medals in the swimming pool in Paris, including golds in the men's 4x100-metre medley relay as well as the men's 100-metre freestyle through Zhanle Pan.
After the men's mixed relay final, in which Peaty and Team GB came fourth, he noted that additional reports surfaced of more positive tests in the Chinese program that went unpunished.
The New York Times reported last week that two more Chinese swimmers had tested positive, including one 2024 Olympian, for a banned substance in 2022 but were cleared by Chinese officials to compete.
Many other athletes who competed in the pool this week expressed concerns over the scandal and said they had lost faith in WADA.
Information from the Associated Press contributed to this report.