Travis Tygart, the head of the US Anti-Doping Agency USADA, said Monday he has doubts about the effectiveness of an investigation into positive doping tests of 23 Chinese swimmers.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) is under increasing pressure to explain how Chinese swimmers tested positive for a banned substance just weeks before the Tokyo Olympics but escaped punishment, with some even winning gold medals.
A report by Swiss prosecutor Eric Cottier investigating whether anti-doping and swimming officials followed proper procedures is expected to be made public on Tuesday, but Tygart called the investigation “more of a self-serving, box-ticking exercise.”
“We were ultimately pleased that Wada was forced to have an independent review,” Tygart said in a video message to U.S. athletes. “We were obviously disappointed that the very staff whose decisions were at issue in this process were setting the terms of this review. We have seen in situations with anti-doping and other sports movements whitewash-type reports when they hire these independent people.”
Wada has acknowledged that Chinese doping officials could have handled the case better, but has vigorously defended its handling of the case, saying it followed the rules of the Anti-Doping Code and did not have the authority to impose provisional suspensions.
The New York Times reported in April that the 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for trimetazidine (TMZ), a drug that increases blood flow to the heart and is used to treat angina. The swimmers were cleared by a Chinese investigation that said they were inadvertently exposed to the drug through contamination. The report noted that the swimmers had stayed at a hotel where traces of TMZ were found in the kitchen.
Wada said there was no evidence to question China’s findings and that outside advisers had advised against an appeal.
While Tygart remains skeptical, the findings of Cottier’s report could go some way to softening criticism of Wada, as Wada confirmed last week that it is aware that the matter is being investigated by U.S. law enforcement.
A U.S. House of Representatives committee in May called on the U.S. Justice Department to launch an investigation into China’s doping cases before the Paris Olympics, which begin later this month.
“Days ago, the International Swimming Federation acknowledged a federal law enforcement investigation into this situation,” Tygart said. “Let’s hope that if this Wada review doesn’t get to the bottom of it, then the reported [US] “The investigation will ultimately hold the organizations accountable, to the extent they can.”