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A documentary by German broadcaster ARD, as well as reports from the New York Times and News Corp, revealed that 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for the same banned substance seven months before the Tokyo Olympics.
While the World Anti-Doping Agency and World Aquatics were informed at the time, the news was not made public and the athletes were not sanctioned.
So what really happened and why were they not found guilty of doping?
Cover-up claims
All 23 athletes tested positive for a banned substance known as trimetazidine (TMZ).
It is a drug used to treat heart disease, but is considered performance enhancing as it can help with physical endurance.
Chinese swimmer Sun Yang served a three-month doping ban in 2014 for taking TMZ, while teenage Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva received a four-year ban after she tested positive for the same substance at the Winter Olympics. Beijing 2022.
According to an investigation by the Chinese Anti-Doping Agency, CHINADA, as detailed in the ARD documentary, traces of the doping agent were found in the kitchen of the hotel where the team was staying.
Traces were found in the extractor hood, in the spice containers and in the drain.
“That an anti-doping pill ends up totally or partially in a pot of soup, from there to the plates and then to the stomachs of the athletes sounds very artificial,” said filmmaker Hajo Seppelt.
“The fact that the World Anti-Doping Agency does not want to question such a statement casts a shadow over the credibility of the international anti-doping fight three months before the Paris Olympic Games,” he added.
Speaking to ABC RN Breakfast, USADA Executive Director Travis Tygart accused WADA and CHINADA of a cover-up.
“It’s terrible for the anti-doping system, and all WADA had to do when they were given that report in June (2021) is do what the rules require,” he said.
“If they wanted to find out it was contamination, then fine, find out it’s contamination. But you still have to announce that, you still have to disqualify the results. And not sweep it under the rug.”
Australian Swimmers’ Association president Mack Horton, who refused to share the podium with Sun Yang at the 2019 World Championships, told Nine Newspapers: “This news infuriates the entire sporting community.”
“The news compromises the integrity of sport in general, not just swimming.”
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, WADA was unable to investigate the case on the ground at the time, but in a statement said: “The Agency remains firm on the results of its scientific investigation and legal decision on the case.
“Based on all available scientific evidence and intelligence, which was collected, evaluated and tested by trimetazidine (TMZ) pharmacology experts; and, by anti-doping experts, the Agency had no basis under the World Anti-Doping Code to question “The environmental contamination findings of the China Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA), a position that was also accepted by World Aquatics.”
Pollution cases
There have previously been high-profile cases attributed to contaminated foods or supplements.
In 2019, Australian swimmer Shayna Jack was banned for four years after testing positive for the banned substance Ligandrol.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport eventually halved the ban to two years after finding she did not intentionally ingest the drug.
Jack suggested he might have taken contaminated supplements.
Karen Brown is a former elite basketball player, pharmacist, and co-founder of Batch Tested, which helps athletes and sports teams test supplements for contamination.
“One in every five supplements you find in the supermarket or pharmacy contains a prohibited substance that would give an athlete a positive result in a drug test,” he explains to ABC Sport.
“Our mission is that no Australian athlete tests positive for drugs.
“The last cycle, which was 2022-2023, was the first 12-month cycle in which there were no positive drug tests.
“Before that, it was up to one a month, and in some cycles there were 16, 17 positive drug tests for these contaminated supplements.
“I think supplement companies have gotten better [at testing]and athletes are now becoming more educated on how not to take that risk and make sure you identify whether it’s been tested or not.”
Many athletes have also tested positive for banned substances due to alleged food contamination.
“It’s more common from a steroid perspective,” Ms. Brown said.
“And that comes from meat where animals have legally been able to receive steroids, but that has then passed into the athlete’s food.
“I know athletes have been advised against street food in particular and to make sure they eat from a trusted source.”
Brown has raised questions about how TMZ ended up in the kitchen of a Chinese hotel.
“Even if a particular worker was using the drug for health reasons, it would be unlikely that it would be found contaminated on so many surfaces,” he said.
Why weren’t they banned?
Some doubts have been raised about the fact that the Chinese swimmers were not punished.
In many cases, athletes will receive a provisional suspension, even while their case is investigated.
Australian runner Peter Bol was provisionally suspended last year after testing positive for EPO.
The ban was lifted after their B sample returned an atypical result, meaning it was neither positive nor negative.
But World Aquatics Doping Control Rules state that athletes can avoid suspension if they are found to be without significant fault or negligence and that the prohibited substance detected comes from a contaminated product, including food.
WADA will hold a press conference early Tuesday morning (AEST) to address the fallout from the revelations.