The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), at the heart of a case linked to the positive tests of 23 Chinese swimmers in 2021 which is shaking the world of anti-doping, appointed an independent prosecutor on Thursday to examine its management of the case, three months away of the Paris Games. At the same time, the agency will “soon” launch a compliance audit in China to “evaluate the current state of its anti-doping program,” she added in a press release.
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“The integrity and reputation of WADA are under attack,” once again denounced Witold Banka, its president. “We continue to reject the false accusations and we are pleased to be able to entrust these matters to an experienced, respected and independent prosecutor,” he added. The decision to appoint Eric Cottier, retired Swiss prosecutor, was taken unanimously by the executive committee which met virtually this Thursday.
According to a recent investigation by the German channel ARD and the New York Times, 23 of the best Chinese swimmers tested positive in early 2021 for trimetazidine, a substance banned since 2014 on the grounds that it improves blood circulation, already detected among the Chinese swimmer Sun Yang and the young Russian skater Kamila Valieva.
Of these 23 swimmers, 13 participated in the Tokyo Olympics in the summer of 2021. And three returned with gold around their necks: Zhang Yufei (200 m butterfly and 4×200 m freestyle), Wang Shun (200 m medley ) and Yang Junxuan (4x200m freestyle). At the time, no provisional suspension had been issued against these swimmers, then a report from the Chinese anti-doping agency (Chinada) concluded, in March 2021, that there was food contamination.
Since Saturday, the affair has raised questions about the transparency and fairness of global anti-doping, already shaken a few years ago by the incredible cheating of another sporting giant: Russia. The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USA) notably called on Tuesday for an overhaul of WADA and an independent investigation into this matter.
On Thursday, the AMA, whose headquarters is in Montreal, assured in its press release that prosecutor Cottier would benefit from “complete and unhindered access to all AMA files and documents relating to this case.” She specified that he would begin his investigation in “the coming days” and should deliver his conclusions “within two months”.
Regarding the upcoming inspection in China, WADA announced that it would “invite a number of independent auditors from the broad anti-doping community to join the audit team for this mission”.
