Final Report on Chinese Doping Cases Casts Blame on CHINADA But Clears WADA Again
In early July, an independent prosecutor appointed by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) declared that the global organization had broken no rules in its investigation of 23 Chinese swimmers who tested positive for trimetazidine (TMZ) in early 2021. However, the final version of the report from Eric Cottier has noted that China’s domestic body governing anti-doping (CHINADA) did commit violations in clearing the swimmers without issuing provisional suspensions.
Still, the report maintains throughout that WADA acted justly and did not show any bias toward Chinese swimmers as it investigated the case.
Cottier’s 56-page report, which WADA released last week, came down against CHINADA’s conduct in the aftermath of the suspensions. The report stated “that CHINADA’s handling of the case had deviated significantly and fundamentally from the procedures laid down in anti-doping standards, that these deviations were particularly serious given that they had enabled the athletes concerned – in the absence of an appeal by WADA – to benefit from an absence of an [anti-doping rules violation] (as well as an absence of any consequences).”
A few paragraphs later, the document notes that “CHINADA should have therefore imposed a provisional suspension (mandatory) on the athletes.” Thus, further testing and hearings would have been required to determine the guilt of the 23 Chinese swimmers before they could have been cleared to compete in the Tokyo Olympics. Several members of that group went on to win medals in 2021, including Zhang Yufei and Wang Shun capturing individual gold.
The concluding section of the report further casts blame on CHINADA for creating a scenario in which the innocence of its athletes was in doubt because of the procedures followed.
Cottier noted that the “23 athletes were ultimately granted a kind of ‘no contest,’ which the body in charge of the worldwide fight against doping did not contest even though, according to the letter of the applicable provisions, introduced to strengthen the worldwide fight against doping, the positive results of their tests created a presumption of guilt on their part, based on the principle of strict liability, which they did not have to rebut because of the failure to apply the rules on the burden of proof.”
But that failure was on CHINADA, not WADA, according to Cottier. He wrote that when WADA chose not to appeal the decision of CHINADA to not impose any sanctions on the athletes, the global governing board “appears to have acted in accordance with the rules it has itself laid out for anti-doping organizations.”
Notably, the report does not offer firm conclusions on the guilt of the Chinese swimmers. “The sense of justice or injustice, however, goes far beyond the scope of this investigation,” it stated.
A report from The New York Times, which first broke the story of Chinese positive tests in April, described the meeting of the WADA executive board in which the report was introduced.
According to the Times, tensions were high when an attempt was made to “bar a Biden administration official who sits on the WADA board from any discussions of the Chinese case,” with an anonymous complaint citing a conflict of interest because of a pending FBI investigation into WADA’s handling of this situation. The official, Dr. Rahul Gupta, was allowed to attend the meetings, “but only after two days of tense discussions…”
Read the full report from Cottier here. Read more from The New York Times here.
Read more:
- American Swimmers Told of Chinese Doping Violations at Tokyo Olympics
- 23 Chinese Swimmers Cleared To Compete At Tokyo Olympics Where Some Won Gold Despite Positive Drug Tests: Reports
- WADA Releases Statement on Chinese Doping Positives; Threatens Legal Action
- Column: Lack of Transparency in Chinese Doping Tests a Glaring Failure of Anti-Doping Authorities
- ‘What happened to strict liability?’ Adam Peaty Hits Back at WADA over Chinese Doping
- WADA Appoints Independent Prosecutor to Review Handling of China Doping
- Katie Ledecky on Anti-Doping System: Faith at ‘All-Time Low’ (Video)
- Qin Haiyang, Wang Shun, Yang Junxuan Tested Positive for Clenbuterol Prior to 2021 Positives
- ‘Extremely Frustrating’ and ‘Disappointing:’ Lilly King, Other Americans Share Displeasure at Chinese Doping Controversies (VIDEO)
- Michael Phelps, Allison Schmitt Testify Before Congressional Subcommittee on Anti-Doping Measures, WADA
- WADA-Appointed Independent Prosecutor Exonerates WADA in Chinese Doping Case
- Chinese Doping Controversy Hovering Over Paris Games