US EditionUSADA Head Testifies over WADA Response to Chinese Doping Case
- On June 17, 2025, U.S. senators held a hearing to question the World Anti-Doping Agency's handling of Chinese swimmers testing positive before the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
- The hearing took place in response to reports that 23 swimmers from China were found to have used a prohibited heart medication prior to the Tokyo Olympics, yet the World Anti-Doping Agency chose neither to penalize them nor to make the cases public.
- Panelists, including USADA CEO Travis Tygart and Senator Marsha Blackburn, criticized WADA for stonewalling, refusing to testify, and failing to enact reforms despite accepting China’s claim of food contamination.
- Tygart emphasized that achieving independence is crucial for success and highlighted that the U.S. withheld $3.6 million in annual dues as leverage to push WADA toward greater transparency and accountability.
- The hearing signaled bipartisan support for legislation giving the U.S. Drug Control Policy leader authority to withhold WADA funding until reforms occur, but WADA denies need for change, keeping the standoff unresolved.
41 Articles
41 Articles
Bulletin-Review
USADA head testifies over WADA response to Chinese doping case
The head of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency told senators that Chinese swimmers would have had to eat around 11 pounds (5 kilograms) of food to test for the amounts of the performance enhancer that resulted in the much-debated positive drug…
Congress takes another look at US funding for World Anti-Doping Agency after China swimmer scandal
Several of the athletes who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs — including nearly half of the swimming team that China sent to the Tokyo Games — went on to win medals, including three golds.
Associated Press News
Had a belly full. Could Chinese swimmers have eaten 5 kilos of food en route to failed doping test?
The head of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency told senators that Chinese swimmers would have had to ingest around 11 pounds, or five kilograms of food to test for the amounts of the performance enhancer that resulted in the much-debated positive drug tests from 2021 that were later disregarded.
'Intimidation!' Olympics regulator gets tongue-lashing at Senate hearing
Democratic and Republican senators alike tore into the World Anti-Doping Agency at a Senate hearing on Tuesday over an ongoing scandal about how they have handled positive banned substances tests in Chinese Olympic athletes, The New York Times reported."At a hearing before a subcommittee of the Comm...
‘WADA Shame’: Senate Panel Examines Olympics Doping
A Senate subcommittee on Tuesday heard a lack of confidence in the World Anti-Doping Agency’s ability to combat cheating at the Olympics. The hearing, “WADA Shame: Swimming in Denial Over Chinese Doping,” comes after an April 2024 report detailed how top Chinese swimmers tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug just months before they were allowed to compete in the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021. Some of the athletes who tested positive for…
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