International Olympic Committee President Supports World Anti-Doping Agency’s Handling of Chinese Swimmers Case
Lausanne, April 27 (Xinhua) – In a recent interview with AFP, International Olympic Committee President Bach expressed his support for the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) handling of the case involving Chinese swimmers who tested positive due to pollution.
Bach stated, “We have full confidence in WADA and the anti-doping rules themselves, and we firmly believe that WADA will abide by the rules.”
WADA Chairman Banka also reiterated WADA’s commitment to following all due procedures in investigating the case. He stated, “If we had to do it all over again, we would do the exact same thing.”
The case in question arose from the National Swimming Competition in January 2021, where some athletes tested positive for trace amounts of trimetazidine. The China Anti-Doping Center conducted an extensive investigation and concluded that the positive test results were due to unknowingly ingesting contaminated food during the event, rather than intentional doping.
WADA conducted a thorough review of the case and found that the possibility of contamination could not be refuted. As a result, the athletes involved were found to have no fault or negligence and will not face punishment for the positive tests.
The decision to not treat the case as a doping violation was made to protect the legitimate rights and interests of the athletes. The relevant parties have not appealed the decision, and the results will not be made public.
With the support of both the International Olympic Committee and the World Anti-Doping Agency, it is hoped that the case of the Chinese swimmers will serve as an example of fair and just treatment for athletes in similar situations in the future.