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The World Anti-Doping Agency did not show bias in the case of 23 Chinese swimmers cleared to compete at the Tokyo Olympics despite testing positive for a banned substance, says an independent investigation.<\/b><\/p>\n
Swiss prosecutor Eric Cottier’s interim report also found it was reasonable for Wada not to appeal against the decision by China Anti-Doping Agency (Chinada) to not punish the athletes.<\/p>\n
The swimmers, 11 of whom have been selected for this month’s Paris Olympics, tested positive for heart medication trimetazidine (TMZ) at a training camp seven months before the delayed Games in 2021.<\/p>\n
Chinada determined they had unintentionally ingested the substance because of contamination.<\/p>\n
The annex to Cottier’s report states Wada’s senior director of science and medicine, Olivier Rabin, had “doubts about the reality of contamination as described by the Chinese authorities”.<\/p>\n
However, he was “unable to exclude the contamination scenario in a solidly substantiated manner” and therefore “saw no other solution than to accept it”.<\/p>\n
Wada ultimately said it was “not in a position to disprove” Chinada’s conclusion and opted not to appeal after consulting independent experts as well as external legal counsel.<\/p>\n
That drew criticism from athletes and the United States Anti-Doping Agency (Usada), whose chief executive Travis Tygart suggested a cover-up – a claim Wada rejected as “completely false and defamatory”.<\/p>\n
Tygart again criticised Wada after the report was published, stating it “still leaves most of the critical questions unanswered”.<\/p>\n
He called on Wada to “release the full China dossier”, agree to a compliance audit and a “more thorough and independent investigation, where the scope and investigator are identified by neutral third parties”.<\/p>\n
Anti-doping groups FairSport and Global Athlete said the process was “inherently flawed from the outset due to its limited scope and independence”.<\/p>\n
In a joint statement, they added: “Until all related documents are made public, trust in the system will not be regained and Wada’s position as the global regulator will continue to be challenged.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n