The head of the United States Anti-Doping Agency demanded on Monday an investigation into the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) handling of 23 positive tests by Chinese swimmers and welcomed the global body’s threat of legal action.
During a nearly two-hour Zoom call with the media, WADA fired back at critics and provided a detailed explanation of its decision not to pursue sanctions on the swimmers, who tested positive for trimetazidine (TMZ) months before the COVID-delayed Tokyo Olympics began in July 2021.
The swimmers escaped punishment after an investigation by Chinese authorities ruled the adverse analytical findings, or AAFs, were the result of being inadvertently exposed to the drug through contamination.
A report determined that all the swimmers who tested positive were staying at the same hotel where traces of heart medication TMZ were found in the kitchen, the extraction unit above the hall and drainage units.
There was no explanation for how the TMZ found its way into the hotel.
China’s 30-member swimming team won six medals at the Tokyo Games, including three golds.
