Chinese FURY at 'dirty tricks' at the Olympics: Tainted swimmer - and Adam Peaty's biggest rival - Qin Haiyang reveals his anger over extra drug testing in Paris

All was calm and still at La Defense Arena on Friday afternoon. There was barely a ripple on the pool's surface, nor a soul in the 17,000 seats, just the eerie silence of a venue taking a break from the most frenzied storm of these Olympic Games.

By then, around 2pm, four hours had passed since the flames of a massive Chinese doping controversy were fanned by the wildly conspiratorial claims of a plot from an athlete directly tethered to the problem.

The name of Qin Haiyang might draw little recognition from those of us who tap into swimming every four years, but he presents the single biggest obstacle to Adam Peaty and his quest for another Olympic gold medal this weekend. 

Many would even make him the favourite for their 100m breaststroke showdown, which begins on Saturday and concludes a night later.

That Qin is one of 11 Chinese swimmers here with at least one failed drugs test to his name is the elephant in the room. The shark in the pool, if you prefer.

His decision to melt a microphone in response to those who correctly question their presence in Paris appears representative of his wider squad's sense of injustice. The manner in which he did so on Friday was quite remarkable - his inference that we should blindly accept the findings of a deeply contentious and secretive investigation that found in their favour in 2021 was accompanied by his anger about the extra testing they have faced in France.

'This proves that the European and American teams feel threatened by the performances of the Chinese team in recent years,' he said.

'Some tricks aim to disrupt our preparation rhythm and destroy our psychological defence. But we are not afraid.

'When you have a clear conscience, you do not fear slander. The team is currently preparing at the established pace. My team-mates and I will resist the pressure and win more medals to silence the sceptics.'

The hope for silence would suggest this squad has no limits to its ambition. We could also muse about the self-awareness lost in Qin's incredulity over the increased testing, which has seen the Chinese claim their swimmers have each received the tester's knock between five and seven times in their 10 days in Paris.

Given the particulars of their case - and the fact all of it was hushed up until April - some might argue they should have been subjected to far more.

Whatever the grime attached to the matter, which hinges on the covert willingness of doping authorities to accept 23 Chinese swimmers were accidently contaminated with a banned drug in a single hotel kitchen prior to the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, almost half of that cohort are back to race in Paris.

In Qin, they have a mammoth talent of 25 and a great threat to Peaty. No one in history has got close to the times set by the Brit in his prime years prior to 2021, and his 57.94sec in April is the fastest seen anywhere in 2024, but it was Qin who recorded an unprecedented treble of world championship golds in the 50m, 100m, 200m in 2023. 

His 57.94sec best from 2023 is quicker than Peaty has managed since 2021. It is deliciously tight to call, but compartmentalising that excitement away from Qin's past is awfully tough.

Peaty himself has alluded to it here, saying in response to a question about the competitiveness of the field: 'I've got a huge amount of respect for the people I race. And I want a nice fair field and a nice fair fight.'

It wasn't addressed directly to Qin but it was a loaded sentiment from a racer who recently reiterated his frustrations to Mail Sport about the cloak-and-dagger nature of the investigation into the Chinese.

'I was pretty devastated when I heard of it,' he said. 'Thankfully, we have whistleblowers, but I was disappointed in the lack of transparency and the way that WADA (the global anti-doping watchdog) handled the whole situation. We don't want to lose public interest and have suspicions around people who are training hard.'

And yet those suspicions hang heavily over Qin, especially as he reportedly failed a test for clenbuterol several years prior to his 2021 positive for the banned heart medication trimetazidine. He was cleared in both instances on the grounds of accidental contamination, with the latter contributing to the immense row between anti-doping chiefs that gained pace this week.

Already we have heard threats of a podium protest from Zac Stubblety-Cook, an Australian rival to Qin in the 200m breaststroke, in the event results go against him. He is not alone in considering that option.

For Peaty, the task of peaking at the end of a turbulent cycle featuring injuries and recurrences in his battles with depressions, will only be heightened by dwelling on doubts about the man in the next lane. If he can overcome those thoughts, it will assist in the sizeable challenge of beating Qin.

In many ways, their match-up, assuming they each navigate their heats at 11.30am local time on Saturday, before a possible meeting in the semi-final in the evening and Sunday's final, has echoes of Usain Bolt's 100m encounter with the banned doper Justin Gatlin at the 2015 World Athletics Championships.

When Bolt edged Gatlin for the gold, Steve Cram declared to his BBC audience: 'He saved his title, He saved his reputation, He may have even saved his sport.'

There was some hyperbole stapled onto those claims, but it is a similar feeling that would build here through the weekend.

That stage was delightfully calm and quiet within the walls of the arena on Friday afternoon. It was most misleading moment of silence at these Games.