China’s sports corruption dragnet casts pall ahead of Paris Olympics

An avalanche of corruption investigations continues to sweep through the former top echelons of China’s sporting regulator, casting a shadow over the country’s spectacular performances in recent Olympics, just weeks before this year’s Games in Paris, where its athletes could challenge the U.S. for the most gold medals.

On May 30, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), the Communist Party’s top graft buster, announced it had launched an investigation into Gou Zhongwen, a former chief of the General Administration of Sport (GAS), China’s top sports regulatory body.