Controversy Surrounding WADA’s Decision on Chinese Swimmers

The World Anti-Doping Agency Decision on Chinese Swimmers

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) cleared itself of any wrongdoing regarding its handling of elite Chinese swimmers who tested positive for a banned drug before the previous Summer Olympics. A special prosecutor appointed by WADA reviewed the decision and deemed it reasonable not to penalize the swimmers, stating that there was no preferential treatment shown to China.

However, the prosecutor’s report revealed that two top scientists at WADA expressed doubts about China’s explanation that the swimmers were contaminated unknowingly. This raises questions about the agency’s decision-making process.

Despite this clearance, critics, especially in the United States, are unlikely to be satisfied. They have raised concerns that the investigator appointed by WADA was biased and that both WADA and China concealed the positive tests in 2021.

Recently, it was disclosed that the Justice Department and the F.B.I. have initiated a criminal investigation into the handling of the positive tests. This development follows a report by The New York Times that detailed how 23 top Chinese swimmers had tested positive for the same banned heart medication before the 2021 Summer Games in Tokyo.

China’s antidoping agency attributed the positive tests to a contamination incident where the swimmers unknowingly consumed the banned drug trimetazidine, also known as TMZ, through food served at a hotel during a meet.