WADA has been accused of trying to cover up 23 Chinese swimmers who tested positive for trimetazidine (TMZ), a prescription heart medication that can improve performance.
The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) on Tuesday called for an overhaul of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and an independent investigation into Chinese swimmers who tested positive ahead of the Tokyo Olympics. The move comes a day after WADA held a press conference to refute accusations by USADA chief Travis Tygart of covering up 23 Chinese swimmers who tested positive for the heart drug trimetazidine (TMZ). prescription, which may improve performance.
A USADA statement said on Tuesday that none of the questions regarding WADA or the Chinese anti-doping agency (CHINADA) had been “satisfactorily answered” by WADA on Monday.
“The selective and self-serving enforcement of the rules we heard about yesterday is destroying public confidence in the authenticity and value of the Olympic and Paralympic Movement,” the USADA statement said.
“Learning that different rules can be applied to different countries undermines the commitment of those who are essential to its continued viability, including the world’s best athletes, fans, sponsors and the next generation of athletes.”
Chinese swimmers were able to compete in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics after world governing bodies accepted China’s findings that they had unintentionally ingested the substance from food during a competition.
Several swimmers won medals in Tokyo and some are expected to compete in the Paris Olympics this summer.
“At every step, WADA has followed all due process and diligently investigated every line of inquiry in this matter,” WADA President Witold Banka said Monday. “If we had to do it again now, we would do exactly the same thing. »
Banka said that “no credible evidence of wrongdoing has been provided by any source who has come forward on this matter, so the threshold required by WADA Intelligence and Investigations to open an investigation has not been achieved.
USADA, however, describes WADA’s inaction as a failure of the entire anti-doping system.
“Due to the evident failure of the global anti-doping system, we urgently call on governments and sports leaders to step up their efforts and take immediate action to ensure that true independence, oversight and accountability are created in the system global anti-doping so that the world can have confidence in the system and those who run it,” USADA said.
“As we stand on the eve of the 2024 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris, athletes and the public desperately need and deserve confidence in the global anti-doping system as these Games approach.
“An immediate first step to repairing the damage caused by this cover-up is for governments to appoint an independent prosecutor to review the entire record of the 23 positive tests and ensure justice is served.
“The effort to achieve whatever justice is possible at this time must take place before the Paris 2024 Games, because it is unfair that all athletes participating in these Games could potentially compete with those who tested positive and whose Results have been kept secret until now. »
‘Stab in the back’
WADA could have taken the matter to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), but Banka said there was no credible evidence to challenge CHINADA’s theory accepted by World Aquatics.
“If we had appealed and challenged the explanation for the contamination, we certainly would have lost,” Banka said.
USADA responded by saying: “WADA’s willingness to blindfold and handcuff itself and maintain that it would do the same thing again is yet another slap in the back of clean athletes.”
Banka said of Tygart’s initial criticism that “most of the comments are politically motivated and without any evidence that anything was wrong on our end.”
USADA’s latest statement also calls on the WADA Executive and Foundation Board governments to initiate a review of the 23 positive Chinese tests and review WADA to ensure a situation does not recur before the Olympics. from Paris.
“All athletes, sponsors and fans of the Olympic and Paralympic Movement deserve a true global watchdog who has the teeth and determination to enforce the rules evenly and fairly,” USADA said.
“We call on governments and the sporting movement to review WADA to ensure that the cover-up of positive samples on the eve of the Olympic Games can never happen again, and to remove the fox from guarding the henhouse once and for all by making WADA truly independent.”
