Wada move after Chinese doping case could threaten LA 2028 Olympics
The World Anti-Doping Agency will next month take the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency before the independent compliance review committee, a milestone that could jeopardize the country hosting the 2028 and 2034 Olympic Games.
Wada is taking the step following a dispute with Usada over the handling of a case involving 23 Chinese swimmers who tested positive for a banned substance in 2021. It would be the first time Wada has taken the US Anti-Doping Agency to the Independent Compliance Review Court, and could have major implications for global sport given the US’s outsized commercial influence.
Any country that wants to participate in or host an international sporting event must comply with the Anti-Doping Code. This means that if the US is found to be incompatible, the country will no longer be allowed to participate in and host the Olympic Games. They will have to host the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles and the 2034 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
The decision comes as tensions have grown between Wada and USADA over the Chinese swimmers’ case, sparked in April when 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for the banned heart drug trimetazidine during a 2021 training camp but went on to compete in the Tokyo Olympics later that year.
Wada confirmed that 23 tested positive, but said it accepted the findings of a Chinese investigation that the results were due to contamination from a hotel kitchen where the team was staying. The case was not made public at the time.
Usada CEO Travis Tygart has publicly accused Wada of covering up the case. In May, a U.S. House committee called on the Justice Department to launch an investigation into the doping scandal that has plagued swimming before the Paris Olympics.
US law enforcement has now taken up the case and may take action against the swimmers under the Rodchenkov Act.
World Aquatics confirmed last week that its chief executive Brent Nowicki has been subpoenaed by the US government to testify in an investigation into how the Chinese swimmers escaped punishment after testing positive.
The Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act, passed in 2020, is named after Grigory Rodchenkov, who led Russia’s state doping program before turning whistleblower. The law allows criminal charges to be filed against people who violate anti-doping rules.
The legislation expands the jurisdiction of U.S. law enforcement to all international sporting competitions involving U.S. athletes or with financial ties to the U.S.
Wada chief Witold Banka said on Wednesday that the US is taking a one-sided approach to anti-doping rules and that this risks undermining global rules.
Usada said in a statement that Wada’s move to refer the US to its compliance commission was a retaliatory measure.
“We were the first to hear about this and if it is true, Wada will continue to retaliate against those seeking answers from them for allowing China to sweep 23 positive cases under the rug,” Travis Tygart, CEO of USADA, said in the statement.
“They are [Wada] being afraid instead of being transparent and I think we will see how independent the CRC is or not. The whole system is crumbling under this Wada leadership and clean athletes deserve better.”
An independent investigation by a Swiss prosecutor concluded this month that Wada had committed no mismanagement or favoritism, while an audit by World Aquatics found no mismanagement or cover-up by the umbrella organization.