The issue of doping continues to haunt China's swimming team at the Games in Paris. The World Anti-Doping Agency once again has to justify its acquittals.
There are new revelations in the affair surrounding undetected doping incidents in China's swimming team. The criticized World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has confirmed that two more top athletes have avoided a long doping ban after positive tests in the recent past and have been acquitted of accusations of sports fraud.
According to a report in the "New York Times", China's anti-doping agency Chinada exonerated Olympic relay champion Tang Muhan two years ago because a steroid detected in her was allegedly due to a contaminated hamburger.
The affair surrounding 23 swimmers who tested positive for the cardiac drug trimetazidine at a national competition in China a good three years ago, but were not banned, had already caused a stir, unrest and doubt before the Games in Paris. Here too, WADA followed the decision of Chinada. An independent investigator had not identified any misconduct on the part of WADA.
According to the New York Times, the incidents that have now come to light are the third in which Chinada has waived bans due to allegedly contaminated food. Tang Muhan, who won gold in the 4x200-meter crawl relay in Tokyo three years ago and is also nominated for the current Games, had eaten a burger in a Beijing restaurant that was probably contaminated with the banned substance metandienone.
WADA emphasized that it had reviewed the decision of the Chinese Anti-Doping Agency "with the necessary skepticism". However, there was no reason to appeal against the acquittals. However, according to WADA, there is currently an investigation into the quantity and risks of food contaminated with steorides in China and other countries such as the USA.
The International Olympic Committee dismissed doubts about the doping hunters. "The Chinese are the most tested athletes in the world," said IOC spokesman Mark Adams. WADA and the International Testing Agency (ITA) were doing a good job.
