According to research, 23 top Chinese swimmers are said to have remained unpunished despite positive doping tests. According to media reports, the World Anti-Doping Agency Wada decided not to investigate the matter itself and instead trusted the Chinese authorities’ account, which cited contaminated meals in an athletes’ hotel as the cause of the positive tests.
After Research by the ARD doping editorial team and the New York Times The swimmers are said to have tested positive at a national competition in China at the beginning of 2021. The banned heart drug trimetazidine, the substance for which Russian figure skater Kamila Valiyeva was banned for four years in January, was found at the competition in Shijiazhuang.
The Chinese team of 30 athletes then won six medals at the Olympics in Tokyo. The three Chinese Olympic swimming champions from the Games in Tokyo are said to have been among those who tested positive.
The Chinese Anti-Doping Agency saw no need for action
According to the report submitted by China, the positive samples were caused by contamination. Food was cooked for all those affected in a hotel kitchen in Shijiazhuang. The report shows that more than two months later, investigators inspected the kitchen and found traces of trimetazidine in the extractor hood, on spice containers and in the drain. Accordingly, the doping substance got into the athletes’ bodies without their knowledge. The Chinese anti-doping agency CHINADA stated that there were “no anti-doping violations” and therefore there was no need for action.
The report was officially written by CHINADA, but the investigating agency was named as the Ministry of Public Security, an arm of the Chinese secret service. ARD and New York Times According to their own statements, they had the document verified by several sources.
In response to a request from ARD, the World Anti-Doping Agency Wada said that, based on the analysis data, it saw “no basis” to “challenge the declarations of contamination”. WADA adhered to its rules. The World Swimming Federation announced that the events had been examined carefully and professionally. Therefore, there was no need to do anything further.