As the 2024 Paris Olympics draws closer, countries around the world are beginning to announce their final rosters for various sports.
The Chinese Swimming Association released its roster on Tuesday, but the list has raised questions as 11 of the 31 players on the list have already come under fire for testing positive for the banned heart drug trimetazidine in 2021. NBC reported.
However, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) ultimately cleared the athletes to take part in the Tokyo Olympics.
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A view of the Olympic Rings in Paris (AP Photo/Aurélien Molissard, File)
WADA said “The athletes’ positive tests were due, at least in part, to accidental exposure to contaminants,” it said. The Chinese anti-doping agency initially made a similar claim, but WADA said it was “not in a position to refute it.”
But the decision sparked backlash, with US Anti-Doping Agency officials suggesting WADA may have been involved in a cover-up.
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WADA has denied the allegations, saying the notion is “completely false and defamatory.”
“(WADA) is shocked by the outrageous, completely false and defamatory statements made by Travis Tygart, CEO of the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), making very serious accusations against WADA regarding the case of 23 Chinese swimmers.” WADA said In an April news release.
Tygart said BBC Sports There were calls for “an independent prosecution of the positive test results that have been hidden until now.”
The south facade of the Palais Bourbon and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games flag in Paris, France, on June 4, 2024. The National Assembly AN is a French institution that, together with the Senate, constitutes the parliament of the French Republic. (Riccardo Milani/Hans Lukas/AFP via Getty Images)
“This is the catastrophe we feared and it is exactly why we called for a true and independent prosecution of the positive tests that have been covered up until now, particularly given that the statute of limitations has not yet expired,” he said.
“All athletes have a right to know that these Chinese athletes will compete against other athletes held to the most rigorous standards in Paris, and that the results will be fair and just.”
A few months before the opening of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the “Paris 2024” logo, representing the Olympic Games, was unveiled on the façade of an official store in Paris, France, on February 21, 2024. (Chesnot/Getty Images)
WADA has launched an independent investigation into the incident but has yet to release its findings.
In June, seven-time Olympic gold medalist swimmer Katie Ledecky said she believed trust in the anti-doping system was at an “all-time low” in the wake of the doping scandal. The American superstar swimmer added that the controversy could cast a shadow over the Summer Olympics.
“It’s tough heading into Paris knowing I’ll be racing against these guys,” Ledecky said.
About two months ago, International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach backed WADA, saying he had “full confidence” in the organisation and believed swimmers should be able to compete in Paris if given the go-ahead.
“There is no reason for them not to be there, provided the procedures are followed,” Bach told AFP.
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A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said this week that China “consistently maintains a firm stance of zero tolerance against doping” while also taking safeguards to ensure “fair competition in sports”.
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