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The curse that is keeping some of the top swimming medal contenders out of this summer’s world championships has hit the Chinese swim team.
Jiao Liuyang, the reigning 2012 Olympic champion in the 200 butterfly and 2011 world champion, has been suffering from serious stomach ailments and has not been training consistently for the past few months.
Jiao said she had been afflicted with viral gastritis, an inflammation of the stomach lining. She said in an article by the Chinese news agency Sina that she was fearful of taking medicine to treat the illness, in case the medications contained substances banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency. The article goes on to suggest that Jiao might consider retirement, as the illness has caused a major setback in her training, so much that preparation for a defense of her 200 fly title in Rio de Janeiro might be compromised.
Jiao’s illness was one reason why she did not participate in the Chinese nationals this past spring, where she could have qualified for the world championships. Reigning 200 butterfly world champion Liu Zige won’t be in Kazan to defend her title, either, as she was seventh at the Chinese nationals. Zhou Yilin and Zhang Yufei will likely compete for China in the 200 fly at worlds.
In addition to winning the 200 fly at the London Olympics and snatching the 2011 world title from lane one in Shanghai, Jiao was the 2008 silver medalist behind Liu in the 200 fly. She was sixth in the 200 fly at the 2013 world championships.
Sad to hear it.