The US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has requested an investigation into the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) decision not to take action against Chinese swimmers who tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine (TMZ) months before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
WADA chose not to impose sanctions on the swimmers and explained the same: “I mean, obviously, the whole situation is a tragedy for clean athletes around the world. The fact that, you know, the rules weren’t followed. And obviously, that was one thing that was, you know, acknowledged by the WADA press conference that CHINADA should have announced the violation. They should have disqualified the athletes. They should have been provisionally suspended, although they claimed there were some exceptions that may be applied there,” said the USADA CEO Travis Tygart, as reported by the news agency Reuters.
The 30-member Chinese swimming contingent won six medals at the Tokyo Olympic
After conducting an investigation, the Chinese Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA) determined that the swimmers who tested positive for trimetazidine (TMZ) were staying at a hotel where traces of the banned substance were found in the kitchen, the extraction unit above the hall, and drainage units.
“I think WADA has a responsibility to provide all evidence and publicly disclose all evidence when it comes to what they’ve received—emails—to build confidence. And if there’s nothing to hide, then surely they should be willing to put everything out for an independent review outside the sports industry—in fact, give it to police authorities,” demanded Global Athlete director general Rob Koehler.
The 30-member Chinese swimming contingent won six medals at the Tokyo Olympics, which included three gold medals.