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Global sports’ anti-doping watchdog has called it “outrageous” and “total” its mishandling of a 2021 incident in which more than 20 elite Chinese swimmers tested positive for banned performance-enhancing drugs. denounced the false claims.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said that USADA Director Travis Tygart said the agency and Chinese officials were “sweeping these positive pieces of information under the carpet” and that the rules regarding drugs in sports would be improved. The company made this comment after being accused of not complying with the law.
This debate revolves around the highly sensitive issue of doping in high-level sports. new york times The report reveals how 23 Chinese swimmers were allowed to continue competing, including at the Tokyo Olympics later that year, despite testing positive months earlier. did.
The report, released in conjunction with German public broadcaster ARD, said the athletes who tested positive included almost half of the swim team China sent to the Tokyo Games, and several lost medals, including gold. He said he had acquired the.
CNN has reached out to the Chinese Olympic Committee for comment.
In a statement on Saturday, WADA said it “stands by the results of a rigorous scientific investigation” into the incident and said it “stands by the very serious allegations made against WADA in connection with this incident” (Tygart). “I am appalled by the outrageous, completely false and defamatory statements.” along with the case. ”
In a statement the same day after the press release, authorities said they had “carefully considered” Chinese authorities’ decision to allow swimmers to continue competing after testing positive, and that they had “carefully considered” the decision by Chinese authorities to allow swimmers to continue competing after testing positive, and that they would not accept any subsequent cases from China. He also responded to inquiries regarding the matter. USADA and independent international testing agencies.
The China Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA) said in a statement on Saturday that recent media reports about the incident were “misleading”, according to China’s official Xinhua News Agency.
China conducted doping tests at the 2021 National Swimming Championships, and swimmers tested positive for “extremely low concentrations” of trimetazidine (TMZ), Xinhua News Agency said in a statement.
The substance, a heart drug banned by WADA since 2014, is thought to affect metabolism and increase endurance during physical activity. The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics attracted global attention after Russian star figure skater Kamila Valieva tested positive before the Games and was suspended for four years.
In the case of Chinese swimmers, the Chinese National Swimming Team will take responsibility for the results after an “immediate” investigation concluded that the Chinese swimmers were inadvertently exposed to the substance through contamination, Xinhua News Agency said. The company said in a statement that it had decided that it should not be held responsible.
WADA said in a statement on Saturday that it was made aware in June 2021 of the Chinese ADA’s ruling against a swimmer who tested positive earlier that year.
“As part of the review, WADA will collect additional unpublished scientific information regarding TMZ to test contamination theories and whether low doses of TMZ may have benefited athletes during competitive swimming competitions. “We have consulted with independent scientific experts to verify this,” the agency said. That statement.
“WADA ultimately concludes that it is not in a position to disprove the possibility that the contamination was a TMZ source, and that it is consistent with the analytical data in the file,” the statement said, adding that the findings were “completely transparent.” with internal and external investigators, it added.
In a second statement Saturday, USADA’s Tygart accused WADA and China of not being transparent about their findings and keeping “clean athletes” in the dark.
In a statement posted to the USADA account on social media platform “I neglected to make this public.”
Tygart said: “Even if you buy into their story that this was contamination and that powerful drugs ‘magically’ appeared in their kitchens and caused 23 of China’s elite swimmers to test positive, these “This is a terrible failure,” he said, referring to details contained in the report. new york times” The article cited a report from Chinese investigators.
In an earlier response to Tygart, WADA said that following Tygart’s “false allegations,” it had “no choice but to refer the matter to legal counsel for further action.”
He also clearly mentioned that “media reports” about the situation were “misleading and potentially defamatory.” new york times report.
