Australian swimmers offered cash incentives to race in China

International swimmers who win medals at the Paris Olympics could be offered cash sweeteners to race in China as part of a peace offering to help calm the current turbulence in the sport.

BUDAPEST, HUNGARY - OCTOBER 22: The winners of the overall cup, Haiyang Qin of China and Kaylee Mckeown of Australia at the Swimming World Cup in Budapest, Hungary on October 22, 2023. (Photo by Mine Kasapoglu/Anadolu via Getty Images)

International swimmers who win medals at the Paris Olympics could be offered cash sweeteners to race in China this year as part of a peace offering to help calm the current turbulence in the sport.

Some of the biggest headline acts in global swimming – including leading Australians – have already been offered guaranteed appearance money to participate in all three rounds of this year’s World Cup, which includes a leg in the Chinese megacity of Shanghai.

The idea was originally proposed as a way to put more dollars in the pockets of swimmers after World Athletics announced it would give $76,000 to any track and field competitor who won gold in Paris.

Under the alternative plan for swimmers, some of the sport’s biggest stars were secretly offered exclusive deals regardless of their results at the Olympics, with sources saying the incentives could be extended to other swimmers who get on the podium in France.

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Although sources insisted the unprecedented inducements are not linked to the explosive doping scandal that has rocked world sport, swimming insiders are privately worried that some foreign competitors might boycott the opening leg of the World Cup in Shanghai (Oct 18-20).

Offering a combined prize money purse of $1.8 million, plus bonuses for the overall champions and anyone who wins at all three venues, the 2024 World Cup will also take place in South Korea (Oct 24-26) and Singapore (Oct 31-Nov 2), but the spotlight will be on the Chinese leg.

As first reported by this masthead, 23 Chinese swimmers were secretly cleared to keep training and racing despite testing positive to a banned heart drug in the lead-up to the last Olympics in Tokyo.

Several influential countries, including Australia, have called for more clarity and transparency around the case findings, with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) agreeing to conduct an independent review.

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The results are expected to be made public around the same time as the Australian Olympic swimming trials in mid June, but with the repercussions likely to spill over into Paris, when the Games start on July 26.

Australia’s swimmers are unlikely to avoid being dragged into the storm because Australia has a long history of calling out anti-doping and the Dolphins are also one of the world’s premier swimming nations.

And with more than half of the 23 Chinese swimmers who were cleared of doping in 2021 being selected for Paris, including Zhang Yufei, Yang Junxuan and Qin Haiyang, the stage is set for a string of heavyweight showdowns in the pool.

Australia, China and the United States are looming as the three powerhouses in swimming at Paris.

On current world rankings, Australian and Chinese competitors will compete head to head against each for medals in around half of the 35 swimming events in Paris.