It’s a bomb that risks causing a lot of damage in swimming pools and beyond. According to the German channel ARD and the “New York Times”, 23 of the best Chinese swimmers tested positive before the Tokyo Olympics without ultimately being worried by the Chinese anti-doping agency and some were able to participate in the Olympics and win titles and medals.
In a video report which should be broadcast over the weekend, the ARD therefore explains having received documents, renamed “China files”, from an investigation report from the Chinese National Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA) concerning a competition in January 2021 in Shijiazhuang.
Among these swimmers would be the Olympic champion in the 200m butterfly Zhang Yufei, Wang Shun, Olympic champion in the 200m medley and runner-up this season in the world reports on the distance behind the Frenchman Léon Marchand or even the breaststroker Qin Haiyang, world champion 50, 100 and 200m breaststroke last year, while 13 of the 23 positive athletes participated in the Tokyo Olympics where China won six medals.
Still according to the ARD, China justified these cases of doping in its report by indicating contamination by the food which was prepared for all the athletes concerned in a kitchen of the athletes’ hotel in Shijiazhuang. The report also states that investigators inspected the kitchen two months later and found traces of trimetazidine in the extractor hood, on spice containers and in the drain.
The doping properties of trimetazidine are not clearly identified. “It’s a product that has only been tested on sick peopleGérard Dine explained to us, at the time of the Valieva affair. We have no objective scientific reality at all that says it improves performance. If we push the reasoning very far, without saying that it is effective, we can imagine that an athlete who is at the peak of his energy use hopes to gain a little something extra (improvement in the energy production of the contraction of the heart cells). This is why the molecule was considered possibly doping by WADA and this is why it continues to appear on the banned list. »
The ARD, which worked in collaboration on this case with THE New York Times, also indicates that China would have transmitted this information in the ADAMS software (WADA software allowing all the controls carried out in the world and also all the results) while alerting the AMA by a letter. However, the athletes were not provisionally suspended as should be the case for this substance, classified as unspecified by WADA and for which the suspension is in the texts of 4 years since the thesis of contamination was retained. .
An appeal not justified according to the AMA
When contacted, WADA indicated in a press release that it had been made aware in June 2021 of the return of several abnormal results from Chinese swimmers and that it was linked to contamination.
“As usual, WADA has carefully reviewed the decision and, in this case, requested the full file, indicates the press release. As part of its review, WADA collected additional unpublished scientific information on trimetazidine and consulted independent scientific experts to test the contamination theory and also to explore whether low doses could have benefited athletes during a swimming competition. During this review process, which lasted several weeks, outside scientists and legal advisors thoroughly tested CHINADA’s theory of contamination.
It was not possible for WADA scientists or investigators to conduct their field investigations in China given the extreme restrictions in place due to the COVID lockdown. WADA ultimately concluded that it was unable to refute the possibility of contamination. WADA also concluded that, given the specific circumstances of the alleged contamination, the athletes would be considered to have committed no fault or negligence. Therefore, and based on advice from external counsel, WADA considered that an appeal was not warranted. »
In addition, WADA indicated that its intelligence and investigations department had “independently reviewed” the file and “that proper procedures had been followed and there was no evidence of wrongdoing”. Finally Olivier Rabin, the scientific director of the AMA affirms “the absence of a doping pattern”indicating that several athletes presented results “fluctuating” in other samples taken over several days and these results had been revealed ” it’s clear “ to the International Testing Agency (ITA), the body in charge of testing for the International Swimming Federation.
“If this is true, it looks like a cover-up at the highest levels in the world” Travis Tygart, head of the American Anti-Doping Agency, told ARD. Three months before the Paris Olympics, the bomb is indeed enormous.