Wada: Why the world's anti-doping agency feels stuck between US and China

The world anti-doping agency says it is "unfairly caught" in US-China geopolitical tensions.

British Broadcasting CorporationWatchHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureTravelEarthVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS ElectionUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC VerifySportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessWomen at the HelmFuture of BusinessInnovationTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindCultureFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsTravelDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureTravelEarthVideoLiveAudioWeatherNewslettersWhy the world's anti-doping agency feels stuck between US and ChinaGetty ImagesTang Muhan is on China's 31-member swim team at the Paris Olympics The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) says it is "unfairly caught" in a row between the US and China, with their geopolitical tensions spilling onto the Olympic stage.

China's top swimmers have been in the spotlight after a slew of doping allegations, followed by contentious US claims that Wada was covering it up.

Chinese swimmers headed to Paris were drug-tested twice as much as some other nations, which, in turn, has fuelled accusations of a conspiracy to disrupt their performance.

Wada said in its statement on Tuesday that it had been caught in "the middle of geopolitical tensions between superpowers but has no mandate to participate in that".

"Certain individuals [in the US] are attempting to score political points purely on the basis that the athletes in question are Chinese," Wada head of media relations James Fitzgerald told the BBC. "The result is that it has created distrust and division within the anti-doping system."

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cv2gygj1d28o

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