Grant Hackett has harshly criticized the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for what he perceives as failures in its handling of doping cases, particularly in regards to Chinese swimmers who were allowed to compete at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. despite testing positive for anti-doping tests.
The Australian swimming champion highlighted a “credibility issue” within WADA and expressed sympathy for Australian swimmer Shayna Jack, who was disheartened by her own experience with the doping scandal.
A media report said WADA cleared 23 Chinese swimmers to compete after testing positive for trimetazidine, a performance-enhancing drug, attributed to sample contamination.
Meanwhile, Shayna Jack missed the Tokyo Olympics and faced a two-year ban after testing positive for ligandol, another banned substance, although her legal team argued it was also due to contamination.
It was a situation that Hackett said highlights inconsistencies and controversies in international doping regulations and enforcement.
The Australian swimming champion harshly criticized the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)
Chinese swimmer Sun Yang was banned for eight years by the World Anti-Doping Agency in 2020 after breaking vials of blood during a doping test in 2018.
WADA has been criticized for not being consistent across the board after Chinese swimmers were allowed to complete in Tokyo despite testing positive for banned substances.
“There’s certainly a credibility issue,” Hackett said. Fairfax Media.
‘Athletes who have been caught, or who have had something in their system that got there and it wasn’t necessarily through their own means, have gone through a very transparent process and it has always been revealed.
‘The fact that this was not an open process was not revealed, we learned through the media through an investigation.
“It makes you think, ‘Well, why doesn’t WADA have the same manual for a particular nation or a particular set of athletes compared to other athletes who have been through it?'”
“So, of course, there are questions about that.”
Australian swimmer Shayna Jack had to fight to clear her name after also testing positive
In April, WADA stated that after reviewing CHINADA’s proposed contamination theory with the help of outside scientists and lawyers, they could not conduct their own research in China due to the Covid lockdown.
Consequently, they could not refute the possibility of contamination and concluded that the 23 athletes were not to blame.
‘They stand behind their process and what they did. However, I think a lot of other people are sitting around the table saying, ‘Well, you’ve been inconsistent.’ Why?’ Hackett said.
“I think there are a lot of questions that remain unanswered and until they’re fully addressed it’s hard not to sit here and think, ‘Well, did someone do something wrong?’, and if they didn’t, ‘Why?’ Didn’t it go through formal channels? Why wasn’t it transparent? Why wasn’t it made known?’
“I’m not going to sit here and point fingers and call people guilty, but at the end of the day, what you want is to see a consistent process that everyone has to endure if something goes wrong, whether it’s your fault or your fault.” blame”. No.’
Chinese swimmers Junxuan Yang, Yufei Zhang, Bingjie Li and Muhan Tang pose with their gold medals at the Tokyo Games
Jack’s mental health was affected during the positive test scandal to the point that he considered taking his own life.
Jack’s suspension was revoked in July 2021 and he is now preparing to qualify for his first Olympic Games.
The 25-year-old sprinter is training for the Australian Olympic trials, which are scheduled to take place in Brisbane from June 10-15.
During her suspension, Jack faced doping accusations and significant media attention, leading her to a point where she contemplated suicide.
“Completely bummed,” Hackett said when asked how Jack must have felt after the China drug bombing.
‘Can you imagine going through the process she did?’
Jack’s two-year suspension would have “seemed like an eternity,” Hackett said.
“She was basically labeled as a drug cheat for a long, long time, until finally a level of innocence was achieved, which went through an official process,” Hackett added.
‘[Jack would be] Sitting there thinking, ‘I went through that to prove my innocence in a situation that was very, very difficult.’ Why isn’t everyone else going through the same situation if they are in exactly the same circumstances as me?’
“It just feels unfair.”
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