Former Olympian and leading swim coach Brett Hawke has expressed sheer disbelief after Pan Zhanle’s commanding victory in the 100-metre freestyle, saying it was “not humanly possible” for him to prevail over the rest of the field by a body length.
Pan’s time of 46.40 seconds was a staggering 0.4s improvement on his own world record, which he set at the world championships in February, and ensured that not even a ferocious final lap by Kyle Chalmers would deny him the gold medal.
Gold medallist Pan Zhanle poses with silver medallist Kyle Chalmers and bronze medallist David Popovici.Credit: AP
But Hawke, who swam for Australia at the 2000 and 2004 Olympics and has spent most of his coaching career at Auburn University in the United States, said he was angered by the race.
“I’m angry for a number of reasons,” he said in an Instagram post.
“My friends are the fastest swimmers in history, from Rowdy Gaines to Aleks Popov to Gary Hall jnr, Anthony Ervin, all the way up to King Kyle Chalmers. I know these people intimately, I’ve studied them for 30 years, I’ve studied this sport. I’ve studied speed, I understand it. I’m an expert in it. That’s what I do. And I’m upset right now, because you don’t win 100 freestyle by a body length on that field – you just don’t do it. It’s not humanly possible to beat that field by a body length. It’s not.
“I don’t care what you say. This is not a race thing, it’s not against any one particular person or any nation, this is just what I see and what I know. That’s not real. You don’t beat that field: Kyle Chalmers, David Popovici, Jack Alexy, you don’t beat those guys by one full body length in 100 freestyle.
“That’s not humanly possible. So don’t sell it to me. Don’t shove it down my throat. It’s not real.”
There is no suggestion that Pan has taken performance-enhancing drugs.
Source Agencies
