“All those involved in the dirty work that covered up the positive test and suppressed the voices of our brave whistleblowers must be held accountable to the fullest extent of the rules and the law,” Tygart said in a statement. WADA reacted similarly fiercely.
“Mr. Tygart's allegations are politically motivated and made with the intent to undermine WADA's work to protect clean sports around the world,” the agency wrote, adding that it would forward Tygart's statement to general counsel. Ta.
None of the outrage fully illuminated the revelations that surfaced in late 2020 with reports in the New York Times and German broadcaster ARD that 23 swimmers tested positive for the banned drug trimetazidine. However, the results were not made public. According to reports, 13 of these swimmers participated in the Olympics and won several medals, including three gold medals.
In a 100-minute video press conference on Monday, WADA officials confirmed the test results and accepted Chinese anti-doping agency CHINADA's explanation that the positive tests were due to accidental contamination before a year-end competition. said. Part of the evidence WADA used to investigate the incident was a report by Chinese investigators who found traces of trimetazidine in the kitchen exhaust pipe and sink drain of the hotel where the swimmers were staying. This is what I got from.
WADA officials said they had to rely on internal reports while consulting outside advice about the possibility of such contamination because pandemic regulations have prevented entry into China. Furthermore, since the swimmers had already obtained permission from China, WADA had to consider the possibility of successfully appealing penalties to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The athletes were acquitted and WADA refused to make the allegations public.
“For me, I act on the evidence, and I have to act on the evidence as well when assessing whether CAS should accept an explanation,” he told a press conference. said WADA General Counsel Ross Wenzel, who did most of the talking. . “surely [CAS] We do not intend to draw any adverse inferences or assume any dastardly conduct just because we are dealing with Chinese authorities. ”
These explanations come as USADA, exhausted by the two-year turmoil surrounding Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva, who tested positive for the same substance (also known as TMZ) before the 2022 Beijing Olympics, said: For those involved with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Games, it seemed hollow. Her boyfriend's four-year suspension is still subject to a CAS appeal.
Global Athlete, an athlete advocacy group run by former WADA executive Rob Koehler, issued a statement accusing WADA of not disclosing the positive test results, increasing transparency and releasing all the evidence. .
“The alleged failures exposed over the past few days undermine the entire global system of fair and clean sport,” the Global Athletes statement said. “When leaders do not abide by and enforce the rules, athletes are defrauded, their livelihoods are at risk, and they lose the ability to succeed through talent, hard work, and perseverance alone. If the allegations are true, WADA's top By undermining the credibility and value of international sport, the leadership has done a disservice to current and future athletes, billions of fans, and the entire sports community.”
The fact that a Chinese swimmer tested positive for trimetazidine further heightened suspicions. Three-time gold medalist Sun Yang, one of China's most decorated swimmers, tested positive for drugs in 2014 and was suspended for three months. In 2020, Sun was suspended for eight years for refusing to cooperate with a person taking a blood sample, in violation of rules set by swimming's governing body FINA.
Trimetazidine is a heart drug designed for older adults and is used by athletes to improve blood flow and increase stamina. It can be difficult to detect with testing because it clears the system quickly.
Former WADA chief investigator Jack Robertson found the contamination explanation implausible. Although Robertson cautioned that he no longer works for the agency and is viewing the case as an outsider, he also has doubts about China's explanation. Stated.
“How could heart medication in pill form be accidentally mixed into hotel food?” Robertson wrote in a text message. “And that's enough for more than 20 athletes to test positive? The odds are incalculable. Did these athletes all eat the same dish? Not likely. TMZ says multiple dishes were contaminated. Did we? Unlikely. And China has a history of TMZ doping. Should we accept the findings of the Chinese authorities and government?”
In a video press conference on Monday, WADA President Witold Banka said WADA had no evidence of wrongdoing and no reliable way to disprove China's conclusion that the drugs were taken inadvertently.
“If we had to do it all over again, we would do the exact same thing,” he said.
