Swimming

USADA, White House Official Call for Independent Investigation Into Chinese Doping Scandal

April 25, 2024

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) joined a leading White House official in calling for an independent investigation into a January 2021 doping controversy where 23 Chinese swimmers went unpunished by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for positive tests of trimetazidine (TMZ).

USADA CEO Travis Tygart urged governments to appoint an independent prosecutor to review the entire case file in a statement on Tuesday morning, a day after WADA doubled down on trusting China’s kitchen contamination theory during a press conference on Monday. Tygart said governments and the sport movement should “overhaul WADA to ensure a cover-up of positive samples on the eve of the Olympic Games cannot occur ever again, and to once and for all remove the fox from guarding the hen house by making WADA truly independent.”

Tygart stressed that a resolution must be reached before the Paris Olympics this summer, “as it is unfair for all athletes competing in these Games to possibly compete agains those who tested positive and whose results were kept secret until now.” Among the 23 Chinese swimmers who tested positive for TMZ were Tokyo Olympic champions Zhang Yufei, Wang Shun, and Yang Junxuan. China’s foreign ministry spokesman called recent allegations of widespread doping among Chinese swimmers “fake news” on Monday.

Related: Olympic Swimmers React to Chinese Doping Scandal: ‘Ban Them All and Never Compete Again’

Tygart also addressed WADA’s claim that it had precedent for clearing the 23 Chinese swimmers due to contamination, including a case involving more than 10 athletes in the U.S. back in 2014. He said those athletes in question were not American, and that USADA had nothing to do with them.

“These 10 cases were not USADA’s, and we had no involvement with them, if they in fact happened in the U.S.,” Tygart said. “This is a disturbing claim, as these cases must be International Federation cases with which USADA has no involvement. But it suggests WADA’s decision to allow China to sweep the 23 cases under the rug without consequence is apparently just the tip of the iceberg. So, how many more cases have been treated the same in violation of the rules?”

Tygart had more unanswered questions following WADA’s press conference that stretched nearly two hours on Monday, including: “How did a controlled drug, TMZ, arrive in the kitchen? Did any kitchen staff have a prescription or use TMZ? Did an employee crush TMZ pills while in the kitchen? Was CCTV reviewed to determine who had access to the kitchen? Certainly, the Chinese Security Service could have interview the hotel staff to attempt to learn who might have been using TMZ.”

“WADA also appears unconcerned by the fact that TMZ was discovered at a hotel in China by the Chinese State Security over three and a half months after the athletes who tested positive were in the hotel,” Tygart said. “Does WADA believe that the hotel was not cleaned despite these three months spanning the height of the Covid epidemic when restaurants and public places were almost certainly required to perform extensive daily and nightly cleaning?”

Tygart noted that “at least some” of the positive tests featured TMZ levels in a similar range as Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva, who was dealt a four-year sanction after WADA appealed.

Tygart appears to have the White House’s support in USADA’s battle against WADA. Rahul Gupta, who is President Joe Biden‘s top anti-doping official as the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, told the New York Times earlier this week that an independent investigation is needed.

“The United States stands by its commitment to ensure that every American athletes and those across the globe are provided a level playing field and a fair shot in international athletic competitions,” Dr. Gupta said. “There must be rigorous independent investigations to look into any incident of potential wrongdoing.”

Dr. Gupta said he plans to bring up the topic at a meeting of sports ministers this week in Washington, D.C. He also serves as the Americas representative among public authorities on WADA’s executive committee.

Check out the complete list below of the WADA rules violations alleged by USADA:

WADA’s own rules require that a violation be found in contamination cases, that in-competition results be disqualified, that a provisional suspension be imposed at the outset, and that the violation be publicly announced.
Under the rules, these 23 athletes committed an anti-doping rule violation even if they were not at fault. CHINADA, nor any other anti-doping organization, has the discretionary power to find no violation based on contamination.
CHINADA did not follow the rules.
WADA failed to appeal CHINADA’s decision to correct the clear and obvious errors, AND they did not initiate a compliance action against CHINADA for its disregard of the rules.
WADA’s statements at the press conference about 10 cases on U.S. soil for which there was no violation and no public disclosure, is concerning. These 10 cases were not USADA’s, and we had no involvement with them, if they in fact happened in the U.S. This is a disturbing claim, as these cases must be International Federation cases with which USADA has no involvement. But it suggests WADA’s decision to allow China to sweep the 23 cases under the rug without consequence is apparently just the tip of the iceberg. So, how many more cases have been treated the same in violation of the rules?
By not following its own rules in this case, WADA has shown that different rules apply for different countries or circumstances despite the fact the rules afford WADA no such discretion. The lack of transparency makes this double standard all the more unsavory and intolerable as it undermines any remaining trust athletes have in the current global regulator structure and leadership.