US EditionUSADA Head Testifies over WADA Response to Chinese Doping Case
WASHINGTON, D.C., JUN 17 – U.S. lawmakers criticized WADA for failing to sanction Chinese swimmers who tested positive for banned drugs, affecting up to 96 Olympic medals, and called for reforms to ensure fairness.
- U.S. lawmakers held a Senate hearing this week to probe WADA's handling of positive doping tests in nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers before the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
- The controversy emerged when several Chinese swimmers were found to have traces of a prohibited heart medication in their systems, yet WADA accepted the explanation that the substance entered their bodies through contaminated food and chose not to impose penalties on the athletes.
- At the hearing, USADA CEO Travis Tygart and Senator Marsha Blackburn sharply criticized WADA for failing to investigate, refusing to testify, and engaging in stonewalling and intimidation.
- Tygart emphasized that American tax money should not support secrecy and unequal treatment, while Blackburn criticized WADA for avoiding transparency and relying on intimidation and obstructive tactics instead of addressing concerns.
- Consequently, the U.S. has withheld $3.6 million in WADA dues and supports legislation to give the White House authority to continue withholding funds until WADA enacts governance reforms.
44 Articles
44 Articles
tippinsights
‘WADA Shame’: Senate Panel Examines Olympics Doping
By Jacob Adams, The Daily Signal | June 17, 2025 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 2…
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...
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