A high-profile doping scandal broke last week. As the New York Times and ARD reported, 23 top Chinese swimmers tested positive in early 2021 for trimetazidine, a substance that was found in Kamila Valieva's body a year later, but were not punished. Sports correspondent talks about why the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accepted the Chinese version of the origin of doping at face value and did not believe the Russian figure skater.
The scale of the scandal is evidenced by the fact that the World Anti-Doping Agency scheduled a special press conference on this issue — it will take place on Monday evening. And, of course, pure facts. Almost half of those swimmers who passed positive doping tests went to the Tokyo Olympics six months later. The Chinese team won six medals there, including three gold. There are those who still compete and are going to the Games in Paris.
All positive doping tests were passed by Chinese swimmers during the New Year's competition in the city of Shijiazhuang, which took place over four days in December 2020 and January 2021. This was the national stage of preparation for the selection for the Tokyo Olympics. It is noteworthy that the results of the doping tests taken there were entered into the ADAMS system, which is managed by WADA, only two and a half months later — in mid-March 2021. As the Chinese side explained, WADA allowed the samples to be frozen for a month due to the ongoing pandemic.
According to a report by the Chinese Anti-Doping Agency (Chinada), a total of 60 samples were taken from 39 athletes. 28 tests gave positive results, of which 23 were taken from tournament participants. Trimetazidine was found in everyone — the same substance that was found in Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva a month and a half before the 2022 Olympics in Beijing. Let us remember that in “ordinary” life it is taken to treat heart disease. In sports, trimetazidine is prohibited both during and outside of competition — it is believed to increase endurance and promote rapid recovery.
Trimetazidine was found in small concentrations in all Chinese swimmers. However, according to the rules, any amount of this substance found in a sample means immediate suspension of the athlete. This is exactly what happened with Valieva, in whom trimetazidine was also found at trace levels. The temporary suspension was imposed by the Russian Anti-Doping Agency, a day later it was lifted by an independent disciplinary committee after an appeal by the athlete, this decision was protested by WADA and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) — and as a result, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) sided with Valieva, allowing her to compete. But almost two years later he imposed the most severe punishment in Kamila’s case — a four-year disqualification.
< br>Chinese swimmers caught using trimetazidine were not suspended for a single hour. The document, compiled by Chinada, said that traces of the substance were found in the kitchen of the hotel where the athletes lived. On this basis, it was concluded that trimetazidine accidentally entered their bodies — and, accordingly, their innocence. At the same time, the final report does not say either how exactly trimetazidine got into this kitchen, or about what dish it could have ended up in the swimmers’ tests. In addition, the contamination thesis was supported by the statement that the low levels of trimetazidine in the sample precluded deliberate administration. Although any specialist will argue that this is a lie, it could also mean that the substance simply did not have time to leave the body completely.
In general, in simple terms, the Chinese presented a legend that — of course, with a huge stretch — can explain the discovery of doping in the samples of their country's leading swimmers. But the version about Valieva’s strawberry dessert, which was almost ridiculed by WADA officials, is certainly no weaker. And yet, in the case of the underage Russian figure skater, the World Anti-Doping Agency demanded — and ultimately achieved through CAS — her maximum punishment. And the case of the highly experienced and famous Chinese swimmers was simply put on hold, without even opening their investigation.
“WADA has collected additional information on trimetazidine and consulted with independent scientific experts to test the contamination theory and the benefit that low levels of trimetazidine could provide to athletes during competition,” the release said.
And no, this is not about the case of Valieva, who was disqualified for four years, but about the case of the Chinese, to whom, according to WADA, no sanctions should have been applied. What is the difference? There is not a word in the organization’s statement.
The double standards are so clear that even the sworn enemy of Russian sports and longtime friend of WADA, the head of the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), Travis Tygart, was outraged. “This is a crushing blow in the back to clean athletes and a betrayal of all athletes who compete fairly and follow the rules,” he said. “All those who hide the facts of positive doping tests with dirty hands and suppress the voices of brave whistleblowers must be brought to justice to be held accountable to the fullest extent of the rules and the law.»
Tygart also noted that he has reported cases of doping by Chinese swimmers to WADA several times since 2020. And, by the way, this is not the first time trimetazidine has been found in swimmers from this country. The most famous case occurred with Sun Yang — the Olympic champion was caught using this substance in 2014, but was only banned for three months. He is currently serving an eight-year disqualification in another case, which was reduced by almost half after an appeal.
However, WADA did not find any grounds for even the slightest objection to the Chinese version of detecting doping in swimmers. And those media outlets that conducted their own investigations, and at the same time Tygart, were threatened with legal proceedings. Why, there’s no other way to say it, was another famous person from the world of anti-doping, German journalist Hajo Seppelt.
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“Perhaps never in its 25-year history has the highest anti-doping body looked so toothless, well-fed, listless and lacking courage in the face of a powerful opponent who simply does or allows to be done what he wants,” — he said in a comment on the website sportschau.de.
Seppelt also hinted that WADA simply followed the lead of the “multi-billion dollar sports business,” which, of course, is the Chinese market now. And, quite possibly, this is the essence of what happened. Of course, the West does not like a multipolar world — and not only in politics. The fact that senior officials of both the IOC and WADA are ready to do the very last dirt in order to prevent Russian sport from raising its head was shown by the same pranksters Vovan and Lexus. And with the official statements and cases of both Thomas Bach and Witold Banka, everything is clear.
Fighting China head-on is not yet possible for them — therefore, in dubious cases, which, without a doubt, is the case of Chinese swimmers, it is easier take their side. Well, what the benefit is for them is clear and without comment. One can only regret that Russia gradually lost its influence in international sports, which it certainly had before, and was unable to protect its perhaps best figure skater in history the way the Chinese did in relation to their athletes.
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