Tests ignored?

Doping excitement around China’s swimming team!

Did the Chinese cheat in the doping tests of their athletes?

(Bild: APA/dpa/Roland Weihrauch)

There are new revelations in the scandal surrounding undetected doping incidents in China's swimming team! The criticized World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) confirmed that two other top athletes had avoided a long doping ban after positive tests in the recent past and had been acquitted of accusations of sports fraud.

According to a report in the New York Times, China's anti-doping agency (CHINADA) had exonerated the 2022 Olympic relay champion Tang Muhan, among others, because a steroid detected in her was allegedly due to a contaminated hamburger.

Previously, the Olympic competitions had been overshadowed by an affair involving 23 swimmers who had tested positive for the cardiac drug trimetazidine at a national competition in China at the beginning of 2021 but were not banned. Here too, WADA had followed CHINADA's decision. An independent investigator had not identified any misconduct on the part of WADA.

Eating burgers contaminated with banned substance?
According to the New York Times, the incidents that have now come to light are the third case in which China's anti-doping organization has waived bans due to allegedly contaminated food. Tang Muhan, who won gold in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay in Tokyo and is nominated again for Paris, had eaten a burger in a Beijing restaurant that was probably contaminated with the banned substance metandienone.

WADA emphasized that it had reviewed the Chinese decision "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.

China's swimmers at the Olympics in Paris, however, vehemently deny doping, and the International Olympic Committee also rejected 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) are doing a good job.