China doping sparks spat between US and global agencies

Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics.

WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US AntiDoping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.”

The allegation was made after WADA said it had cleared 23 Chinese swimmers who had tested positive for a banned heart medication to compete at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 after agreeing with that country’s authorities that the samples had been contaminated.

WADA defended its process, and said it acted in good faith and according to due process when it did not challenge the Chinese explanation for the positives.

It then turned its attention to Tygart, saying his comments were politically motivated and that it “is astonished by the outrageous, completely false and defamatory remarks” he made.

WADA said that USADA has, several times over the years, accepted “similar conclusions of contamination involving a number of US athletes” and that Tygart “should realize that it is not only American athletes who can fall victim to situations of no-fault contamination.”

Tygart came back with another statement, noting the difference between USADA’s handling of contamination cases and this one.

The Chinese case involves a medication called trimetazidine that was also at the center of the case that led to the suspension of Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva at the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022.

Trimetazidine is a prescription drug for heart disease. It is known to help athletes improve stamina and decrease recovery times. Its use comes with the most stringent penalties under anti-doping rules.

The USADA’s previous contamination cases have not involved trimetazidine, Tygart said.

“And, most importantly, in all contamination cases that we have proven, we provisionally suspended the athlete, disqualified the results, found a violation and issued an announcement as required by the rules,” he said.