Britain, Australia call for WADA review amid China furore

WADA has been under fire since confirming media reports that 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine (TMZ) before the Tokyo Games.

World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Swiss Director General Olivier Niggli delivers a speech. | Photo Credit: AFP

The anti-doping authorities of Britain and Australia have called for a review of WADA’s processes following the global body’s widely-criticised handling of failed drug tests in Chinese swimming.

WADA has been under fire since confirming media reports that 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine (TMZ) before the Tokyo Games.

China’s anti-doping agency cleared the swimmers of wrongdoing before Tokyo, deciding they had tested positive after being exposed to the substance through contamination from the kitchen of a hotel where they were staying.

The case file was made available to WADA’s science department which determined the contamination scenario was not only plausible but that there was no concrete element to call it into question.

Both UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) and Sport Integrity Australia (SIA) called on WADA to “initiate an independent review of the regulatory framework and processes applied” in separate statements on Thursday.

“We hope that WADA, by expediting this process, can help ensure trust and confidence is restored in anti-doping worldwide, and clean athletes can continue to be protected and championed,” UKAD said.

SIA said athletes in Australia and around the world needed to have trust in the global anti-doping system and have confidence that all competitions are fair and that all athletes are treated fairly.

“Sport Integrity Australia has written to WADA directly, seeking clarity around the processes performed in the handling of the case,” it added.

The case has been a sore point in Australia, which banned freestyle specialist Shayna Jack for four years after she failed a drug test which she blamed on a contaminated supplement.

Jack, who missed the Tokyo Games while serving the ban, saw her suspension cut to two years after an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which found she did not knowingly ingest the banned substance.

The latest statements come after the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency called this week for an independent prosecutor to review the case of the Chinese swimmers.

WADA has defended its handling of the case, saying it had no evidence to challenge China’s findings and that external counsel had advised against appealing them.