WADA confirms 23 positive doping tests from Chinese swimmers before Tokyo 2020, USADA CEO calls out "egregious failures"
Canada finished fourth in 4x200m relay that China won in Tokyo.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) confirmed reports on Saturday that 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for trimetazidine (TMZ) in the months leading up to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, but that the organization accepted Chinese findings that the positives were a result of contamination and subsequently cleared the athletes to compete at the Olympics.
China’s swimming team in Tokyo featured 30 athletes and won six medals — three gold, two silver, and one bronze. News that 23 of those athletes tested positive before the Games broke on Friday after a report from the Herald Sun, with the New York Times and German TV channel ARD releasing investigations of their own on Saturday.
With just a few months before the Paris 2024 Olympics are set to begin, several members of the Chinese team are expected to be podium contenders again, although the names of the exact swimmers who tested positive have not been revealed.
Reports say that Chinese anti-doping agency CHINADA claimed the 23 athletes tested positive for the medication as a result of contamination in the kitchen of a hotel they were staying at in Shijiazhuang. According to the CHINADA findings, trace amounts of the drug were found in the extractor fan, on spice containers, and in a drain.
Trimetazidine, which allows for more blood flow to the heart, is a prescription medication available in pill form and has been on WADA’s list of banned substances since 2014. It is used by athletes to increase endurance during physical activity.
WADA said in Saturday’s statement that it consulted with independent scientific experts to test the contamination theory and met with external legal counsel after being told of the positive tests in June 2021. They also revealed that they were unable to complete a full investigation on the ground in China due to a COVID-related lockdown that was in place at the time.
After several weeks of investigating they made the decision to accept the CHINADA findings and did not appeal them, as they have the right to do.
“WADA ultimately concluded that it was not in a position to disprove the possibility that contamination was the source of TMZ and it was compatible with the analytical data in the file,” the statement said. “WADA also concluded that, given the specific circumstances of the asserted contamination, the athletes would be held to have no fault or negligence. As such, and based on the advice of external counsel, WADA considered that an appeal was not warranted.”
The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) had contacted them as far back as 2020, a year before the pandemic-postponed Olympics and positive tests, making claims of doping cover-ups and inaccurate test reporting within Chinese sports. WADA called those past claims “entirely unsubstantiated” on Saturday, but said they offered to open an investigation if USADA could provide any evidence, which they did not. The International Testing Agency had also raised these concerns according to WADA.
WADA also took a hard stance on Saturday against what it called “misleading and potentially defamatory media coverage” after the reports came out, and reminded people that it “reserves its right to take legal action as appropriate.”
This all comes just one day after WADA’s annual #PlayTrue Day, where the organization promotes clean sport and fair competition.
Swimming news outlet SwimSwam reported on Friday that American swimmers were notified that the Chinese team that beat them to the 4x200m freestyle relay gold medal is facing the possibility of their medals being stripped after the news came out.
That report has since been rejected by World Aquatics, who believe that the positive tests have been “handled diligently and professionally”, but if it were to come to fruition at some point, could have an impact on athletes from several countries. The United States would move up to the top of the podium if China gets disqualified, Australia would move up to second, and Canada would climb onto the podium from fourth.
Canada’s team for the final consisted of Summer McIntosh, Penny Oleksiak, Kayla Sanchez (who has since switch to representing the Philippines), and Rebecca Smith. Mary-Sophie Harvey, Sydney Pickrem, and Katerine Savard also swam in the earlier rounds of the event and would receive medals.
“Swimming Canada is aware of recent reports regarding adverse analytical findings related to another country's Tokyo 2020 Olympic team,” Swimming Canada said in a statement on Sunday. “Swimming Canada is committed to clean sport and the strict enforcement of anti-doping rules to maintain a level playing field. Rules must be applied equitably across high performance sport, and exceptions must be communicated transparently.
“Doping can deprive clean athletes of hard-earned moments they deserve, such as standing on the podium and the life-changing opportunities that may follow. Swimming Canada is in the process of seeking further information from its national and international sport partners such as the Canadian Olympic Committee, World Aquatics, the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport and Sport Canada. It is of paramount importance that athletes who train and compete according to the principles of clean sport be respected.”
Trimetazidine is also the focus of an unresolved years-long saga surrounding Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva, and the team figure skating event at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. In both cases, Canada would move up to bronze medal position from fourth place.
Last summer the Canadian men’s 4x100m relay also had their athletics bronze medals upgraded to silver after British runner CJ Ujah tested positive for banned substances.
RELATED READING: Russian figure skater Valieva banned for doping, Canada could receive Olympic bronze // Opinion: Valieva among the victims of a saga that highlights the necessity of clean sport
Questions have been raised about why WADA didn’t publicly disclose the information about the Chinese swimmers back in 2021, in accordance with their own protocols.
USADA CEO Travis Tygart put WADA on blast, releasing a statement on Saturday calling out the organization’s decision-making throughout the process. He didn’t mince his words, calling the news of the 23 positive tests “crushing”, mentioned the impact of a “potential cover-up” from WADA and CHINADA, and added that clean athletes “have been deeply and painfully betrayed by the system.”
“All of those with dirty hands in burying positive tests and suppressing the voices of courageous whistleblowers must be held accountable to the fullest extent of the rules and law,” he added.
Later on Saturday, WADA called Tygart’s comments “outrageous, completely false and defamatory”, and again said they were considering legal action. They said his comments were “politically motivated and delivered with the intention of undermining WADA’s work to protect clean sport around the world,” and again claimed there was no supporting evidence.
Tygart didn’t back down, however, and released another statement expressing his thoughts on the choice to threaten legal action against his organization, and doubled down on the mistakes in their process with the positive tests.
“It is disappointing to see WADA stoop to threats and scare tactics when confronted with a blatant violation of the rules governing anti-doping,” Tygart said in his second statement. “When you blow away their rhetoric, the facts remain as have been reported: WADA failed to provisionally suspend the athletes, disqualify results, and publicly disclose the positives.
“These are egregious failures, even if you buy their story that this was contamination and a potent drug ‘magically appeared’ in a kitchen and led to 23 positive tests of elite Chinese swimmers.”
Tygart also said in his second statement that USADA has been advocating for years to change the WADA rules for substances that can potentially cause contamination, adding that “TMZ is not in that category.”
“And, most importantly,” he added, “in all contamination cases that we have proven, we provisionally suspended the athlete, disqualified the results, found a violation, and issued an announcement as required by the rules.
“Transparency is the key to shining the light in the darkness, and here, by not following the rules, WADA and CHINADA have left clean athletes in the dark.”
As of the time of publication, the Canadian Olympic Committee had not made public comment on the situation.
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