Australia's Olympic 200 meters breaststroke champion Zac Stubblety-Cook said he may make an anti-doping protest after racing China's world record-holder Qin Haiyang at the Paris Games.
The New York Times and German broadcaster ARD reported in April that Qin was among 23 Chinese swimmers who were allowed to compete at the Tokyo Olympics despite testing positive earlier in the year for heart medication trimetazidine, a drug banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Wada confirmed the 23 tested positive without naming anybody. It accepted the findings of a Chinese investigation that the test results were due to contamination from a hotel kitchen where the team were staying.
The International Olympic Committee's Rule 50 gives athletes freedom to express opinions on political or social issues but protests at medal podiums or on the field of play are banned.
"I think potentially we could see protests in other events as well. I think I will make a decision probably on the day," Stubblety-Cook said.
"But at the end of the day, I'm a clean athlete and I'm trying to abide by those rules and I just hope my competitors do the same."
An independent investigation this month ruled Wada did not mishandle or show favoritism to China while a World Aquatics audit concluded there was no mismanagement or cover-up by the governing body.
Qin, 25, beat Stubblety-Cook for the 200m breaststroke world title at Fukuoka last year and also took his world record.
"It's obviously disappointing to hear that news and hear about the pre-Tokyo 23 athletes testing positive - some multiple times.
"And for me, racing someone that was one of those athletes and finding out he was one of those athletes was disappointing.
"I think it's less about what country they came from and more about the system and how the system ultimately feels like it's failed. And that's the truth."
REUTERS
More Olympic stories: Page 3
