WADA to investigate claims of systematic doping in China

The World Anti-doping Agency (WADA) is looking into allegations made by a German broadcaster that Chinese athletes benefited from systematic doping in the 1980s and 90s. “The allegations were brought forward by former Chinese physician, Xue Yinxian, who is said to have looked after several national teams in China during the decades in question,” WADA said. Xue, who recently arrived in Germany and is seeking political asylum with her son, told broadcaster ARD that more than 10,000 athletes were affected, some as young as 11, and that anyone who was against doping was considered “a danger to the country. And anyone who endangered the country is now in prison.” The 79-year-old Xue said she lost her job with the national gymnastics team after refusing to treat an athlete with doping substances before the 1988 Seoul Olympics. She said she had not felt safe in her home city of Beijing since 2012 when she first made her allegations of doping. WADA said it will examine “whether such a system may have prevailed beyond these decades.” The first step, WADA said, was for its “independent intelligence and investigations team to initiate an investigative process in order to collect and analyse available information in coordination with external partners.”