Senators demand transparency from anti-doping agency ahead of Paris Olympics
The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee is demanding answers from the World Anti-Doping Agency about allegations against Chinese swimmers ahead of the Paris Olympics.
WASHINGTON — The two leaders of the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee sent a letter Friday to the president of the world's anti-doping agency demanding answers about how they'll “ensure fair competition” ahead of the Paris Olympic games this summer and crack down on the possible use of performance-enhancing drugs.
“We write regarding concerning reports that the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) permitted Chinese swimmers who tested positive for performance enhancing drugs to compete at the Tokyo Summer Olympic Games in 2021. As we look to the Paris Summer 2024 Olympic Games, it is imperative that we ensure an even playing field for Team USA and all Olympic athletes,” Senate Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Ranking Member Ted Cruz, R-Texas, wrote in the letter, which is first reported by NBC News.
In the letter addressed to Witold Bańka, the president of the World Anti-Doping Agency, the two senators demand a series of documents related to 23 Chinese swimmers who, according to a recent New York Times report, tested positive for a banned heart medication but were allowed to compete in the Tokyo Olympics.
The document request includes all communications with China’s anti-doping agency and the entire case files provided to external counsel during the appeals process. The senators also ask for the “terms of reference” the agency provided to special prosecutor Eric Cottier, who was tapped to review the case, and meeting minutes from all executive committee meetings of the World Anti-Doping Agency since 2019.
China's Anti-Doping Agency, known as CHINADA, has dismissed the scandal as “false accusations and misleading, defamatory reports.” Chinada has said officials found traces of the banned substance TMZ at a Shijiazhuang hotel location where the swimmers tested positive and were staying for the national meet. They labeled it “an isolated mass incident caused by athletes’ unknowing consumption of food contaminated with TMZ,” and said those involved bear “no fault or negligence.” Chinese officials have also denied the doping allegations.
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