JINAN, China, October 22. IN a growing controversy, lifetime-banned coach Zhou Ming has been seen on deck at the Chinese National Games coaching swimmers. Swimming World has obtained photographic evidence of the occurrence found to the right (Zhou is the man in the striped shirt).
For a quick history lesson, Zhou is known as one of the architects of the Chinese doping scandal from the 90s that led to nearly every time posted by a swimmer from China during the time period to be labeled as "drug-tainted" by the media. Zhou personally coached quite a few swimmers who were caught doping in the 90s, and was later banned from the sport for life.
Swimming World has been informed that the American Swim Coaches Association has reported the issue to the World Anti-Doping Agency and the United States Anti-Doping Agency.
Swimming World Chinese correspondent Christopher Chow reports that articles in China have reported that after being banned for life in 1999, Zhou moved to the U.S. but returned to join the Tianjin Swimming Team in 2003.
Zhou was also seen at the 2005 Chinese National Games, where his Tianjin swimmer Yang Jieqiao surprised the country as a 15-year-old winning the 400 and 800 free. While she won the 400 in 4:07.54, her 800 time was an 8:29.12 during which she went out in 4:20 and came back in 4:08. After winning the titles. Yang disappeared and only swam at the 2005 East Asian Games and the 2006 Asian Games.
The question now is whether authorities will remove Zhou from the premises after being served a lifetime ban. Additionally, Zhou showing up at a meet, and still being named as a coach by several swimmers at the Chinese National Games, calls to question what exactly a coach being banned means. A similar situation has occurred in Canada where even though Cecil Russell has been banned from the sport by the nation, he still is found coaching swimmers.
