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The investigative unit of the World Anti-Doping Agency raised concerns about Chinese athletes potentially using a banned substance, but were not informed when 23 swimmers tested positive for it.
Written by Tariq Panja and Michael S. Schmidt
During the middle of 2020, the investigative unit of the World Anti-Doping Agency provided a report to the agency’s highest-ranking officials. This report included a serious warning based on an interview with a doctor who had previously been employed by China’s sports ministry.
The doctor stated that China has been operating a doping program supported by the state for many years, which could be a troubling situation for the Olympic movement. This comes at a time when the Games are still dealing with the aftermath of a doping scandal involving Russia.
The doctor’s information was outdated as she had left her position in 2017, but it was detailed. Chinese athletes were found to be cheating by using small doses of a prescription heart medication called trimetazidine, also known as TMZ, which can enhance their stamina, endurance, and recovery without being easily detected.
The decision by the investigative unit to escalate its warning to the leaders of the agency was not common. The unit decided to place China on a special watch list for increased monitoring, based on credible concerns raised by the doctor.
The prediction in the report turned out to be accurate: 23 top Chinese swimmers were found to have tested positive for TMZ seven months after the report was given to the leaders of the antidoping agency. This happened after they participated in a national competition in China.
However, when the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) found out about the positive tests from Chinese swimmers, they decided not to take action against China. Instead, they ignored the investigative unit and kept the information from them, preventing any further investigation into the matter.
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