The World Anti-Doping Agency on Thursday asked how 23 Chinese swimmers who tested positive for banned substances will be able to compete in the record-setting 2021 Olympics, where they won gold medals and escaped public scrutiny. A special prosecutor was appointed to investigate whether the permit was granted.
The decision to appoint Switzerland’s Eric Cottier as special prosecutor comes after Chinese anti-doping officials and the global regulator known as WADA responded to the positive test by senior government officials, anti-doping experts and others. The move took place amid protests from authorities and athletes.
WADA called the move “harmful and unfounded allegations” against WADA after Saturday’s New York Times revealed how the Chinese Anti-Doping Agency (Chinada) and WADA had refused to discipline. It was positioned as a measure that had to be taken in response to the Or identify 23 swimmers.
“WADA’s integrity and reputation are under attack,” WADA President Witold Banka said in a statement. “In recent days, WADA has been unfairly accused of being biased in favor of China by failing to appeal the Chinada case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. We are pleased to place these questions in the hands of an experienced and respected independent prosecutor.”
WADA announced on Thursday that as part of the review, Cottier, who served as the Swiss canton’s attorney general for 17 years until resigning in 2022, will be given “full and unfettered access to all WADA files and documents.” did. In connection with this matter. ”
Among the questions WADA wants Mr. Cottier to answer include Mr. Nakata’s decision to remove doping from athletes and whether WADA’s decision not to intervene was “a reasonable one.” ing. WADA also asked prosecutors to investigate whether China received preferential treatment from WADA.
The announcement came three days after Mr. Banka and other WADA executives defended WADA’s response to the China incident.
“If we had to do it all over again right now, we would do exactly the same thing,” Banka declared on Monday.
The same day, the Biden administration’s top drug official, who is also a member of the WADA board, called in an independent investigator and plans to raise the issue at a meeting of sports ministers and anti-doping officials in Washington on Thursday and Friday. said. .
Rahul Gupta, director of the National Drug Control Policy Bureau, on Thursday praised the appointment of the special prosecutor.
“Today’s announcement is an important first step in addressing recent doping allegations,” Dr. Gupta said. “All athletes in the United States and around the world have the right to transparent, fair, and doping-free competition. We have a duty to ensure confidence in the systems established to sustain and promote sport.”
Within minutes of WADA’s announcement of the special counsel, U.S. Anti-Doping Agency Director Travis T. Tygart, who has been the most critical of the regulator’s response to the China case, criticized its motives.
“Given the ongoing threats and attacks, it is difficult to see this as anything other than a simple hoax,” Tygart said in a statement to the Times. “It’s clearly cooked. WADA’s statement illustrates the problems with the current system. WADA doesn’t play by its own rules, hand-picks lawyers from its own backyard, and the scope of its vetting of those hand-picked lawyers. will be set.”
Concerns about positive tests have only grown since details of the cases were made public on Saturday. Anti-doping authorities in the UK and Australia had already called for an independent review, joining calls from national swimming governing bodies, athletes and government officials around the world.
“Aquatics GB believes that all athletes have the right to compete on a level playing field and that means a commitment to clean sport,” British Swimming’s governing body said in a statement. “Achieving this promise requires a testing process that is robust, transparent, and consistently applied.”
WADA sought to quell some of the fallout from the China revelations by hosting a press conference on Monday. But the effort, which lasted nearly two hours, failed to quell anger.
And WADA admitted it had not followed its own procedures in the case, raising further questions about whether Chinese nationals were treated differently than athletes from other countries facing similar charges. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency even issued a detailed rebuttal to the claims made at the press conference, emphasizing that this incident and WADA’s response will not be allowed to disappear quietly.
Jenny Vrentas Contributed to reporting from Washington.
