3 weeks ago
The World Anti-Doping Agency said aft reviewing various media reports that it stands by its determination to clear 23 Chinese swimmers who tested affirmative for a banned bosom medicine earlier nan 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
WADA addressed questions astatine a news convention connected Monday and acknowledged location would beryllium skepticism astir specifications of nan lawsuit aft nan merchandise connected Sunday of a documentary by German broadcaster ARD.
WORLD ANTI-DOPING AGENCY SAYS WHY CHINESE SWIMMERS WERE CLEARED DESPITE POSITIVE TESTS FOR BANNED SUBSTANCE
In an earlier connection pursuing first newspaper reports led by nan New York Times, WADA said it agreed pinch Chinese authorities and ruled nan swimmers’ samples were contaminated.
The contamination was accepted to person travel from herb containers successful nan room of a edifice wherever immoderate of nan Chinese squad stayed for a nationalist meet successful January 2021
Chinese authorities handling nan lawsuit aft testing nan swimmers successful January 2021 cleared them without immoderate penalties and WADA accepted their conclusions. Sending independent investigators to China that twelvemonth was not feasible during nan COVID-19 pandemic.
A Chinese emblem is unfurled connected nan podium of a swimming arena last astatine nan 2020 Summer Olympics, connected July 29, 2021, successful Tokyo, Japan. An Australian newspaper said Saturday, April 20, 2024, 23 Chinese swimmers were cleared to compete astatine nan Tokyo Olympics contempt testing affirmative to doping because world governing bodies agreed pinch Chinese authorities and ruled that nan tests had been contaminated. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
"We had nary reliable measurement to disprove nan contamination theory," WADA charismatic Ross Wenzel told reporters successful an online telephone connected Monday, adding location was nary governmental unit to driblet nan case.
Wenzel elaborate a timeline from January to June 2021 for nan lawsuit to beryllium resolved. That was conscionable weeks earlier nan Tokyo Olympics opened, and pinch nan Beijing Winter Games approaching successful February 2022 that was a individual task for Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Chinese swimmers went connected to triumph 3 golden medals successful Tokyo, wherever nan United States took metallic successful 2 of those races and Britain was 2nd successful nan other.
"Following WADA’s reappraisal of nan documentary, nan agency still stands firmly by nan results of its technological investigation and ineligible determination concerning nan case," WADA said successful nan connection earlier putting guardant its elder managers up for questioning connected Monday
WADA said based connected disposable technological grounds and intelligence, "which was gathered, assessed and tested by experts successful nan medicine science of trimetazidine (TMZ); and, by anti-doping experts," it had nary ground nether nan world anti-doping codification to situation nan Chinese agency's findings of biology contamination.
The supplier astatine nan halfway of this lawsuit was besides nan medicine that led to nan suspension of Russian fig skater Kamila Valieva astatine nan Winter Olympics successful Beijing successful 2022.
In that case, WADA moved to entreaty and sought sanctions for Valieva aft Russian anti-doping authorities judged she was not to blame.
China's prima swimmer Sun Yang besides tested affirmative for TMZ and served a three-month prohibition successful 2014. That lawsuit besides was kept quiet by Chinese and aquatics authorities and provoked disapproval from opponents erstwhile he won astatine nan world championships nan adjacent year. Sun was later banned for breaking doping rules successful a high-profile lawsuit WADA did pursue.
Dismissing play suggestions WADA was "soft connected Chinese athletes," agency president Witold Bańka reminded reporters it had been "vigorously pursuing justice" successful nan Sun case. A prohibition of much than 4 years for three-time Olympic champion Sun expires adjacent month.
WADA said its position successful nan latest Chinese lawsuit was besides accepted by World Aquatics, which governs world swimming.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin connected Monday described nan media reports arsenic "disinformation and a misrepresentation," and affirmed WADA’s decision.
Wang said China’s anti-doping authorities investigated nan incident and recovered nan affirmative results were owed to "the ingestion of contaminated nutrient by nan applicable athletes without knowledge of nan contaminated food, and nan Chinese swimmers progressive were not astatine responsibility aliases negligent, which did not represent a doping violation."
However, anti-doping rules successful Olympic sports do require a provisional suspension — which nan Chinese swimmers avoided from their nationalist anti-doping agency — erstwhile athletes trial affirmative for TMZ, isolated from if contamination is suspected.
"I want to emphasize," Wang said, "that nan Chinese authorities has maintained a patient stance of zero tolerance towards doping, strictly abides by nan WADA code, resolutely safeguards nan beingness and intelligence wellness of athletes, maintains adjacent play successful sports competitions, and contributes positively to nan world efforts successful nan crackdown connected doping."
China has fixed almost $2 cardinal to WADA successful caller years supra its expected payments arsenic a nationalist government.
The 30-member Chinese aquatics squad won six medals successful Tokyo, including 3 golds. Zhang Yufei won nan women's 200 meters butterfly up of Regan Smith of nan United States, and metallic successful nan 100 butterfly wherever American Torri Huske was retired of nan medals successful fourth.
Zhang and nan Junxuan were portion of nan 4x200 freestyle relay squad that took gold, edging nan Americans including seven-time Olympic champion Katie Ledecky. Canada was fourth.
"Doping tin deprive cleanable athletes of hard-earned moments they merit specified arsenic opinionated connected nan podium and nan life-changing opportunities that whitethorn follow," Swimming Canada said Sunday successful a statement.
In nan men's 200 medley successful Tokyo, Wang Shun hit metallic medalist Duncan Scott, nan British prima who refused to stock a badge podium pinch Sun nan astatine nan 2019 world championships.
Many of nan athletes still compete for China and are expected to aquatics astatine nan Paris Olympics that commencement successful July.
WADA said it was fixed a extremity by nan U.S. Anti-Doping Agency arsenic early arsenic 2020 — earlier this lawsuit arose — astir allegations of doping cover-ups successful China but nan USADA ne'er followed up pinch evidence.
USADA CEO Travis Tygart called nan news of nan Chinese affirmative tests "crushing."
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
"It’s moreover much devastating to study nan World Anti-Doping Agency and nan Chinese Anti-Doping Agency secretly, until now, swept these positives nether nan carpet by failing to reasonably and evenly travel nan world rules that use to everyone other successful nan world," Tygart said.
The lawsuit underscores what galore position arsenic a flaw successful nan world anti-doping strategy — that a country's ain anti-doping statement is often nan first statement of defense successful catching supplier cheats and those organizations person different levels of information to fulfil that role.
