After recent media coverage, WADA has issued additional details about 23 Chinese swimmers who were found to have tested positive for Trimetazidine (TMZ) in 2021.
In the past few hours, it has been revealed that 23 prominent Chinese swimmers tested positive for the same potent banned substance seven months prior to the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games, yet they were allowed to continue competing. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) promptly issued a public statement in response.
The statement began with, “WADA was informed in June 2021 about the China Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA)’s decision to acknowledge that the swimmers had tested positive for TMZ in early 2021 due to accidental exposure to the substance through contamination. As standard practice, WADA thoroughly examined the decision and in this instance, requested the complete case file.”
Continuing its review, WADA collected further, unpublished scientific data on TMZ and sought guidance from independent scientific specialists to assess the contamination hypothesis and explore whether minimal doses of TMZ could have provided advantages to the athletes during swimming competitions,” the organization stated.
The WADA emphasized that throughout the review process, scientists and external legal advisors rigorously examined the contamination hypothesis put forth by CHINADA. However, due to stringent COVID-related lockdown measures, WADA scientists and investigators were unable to conduct their research on-site in China.
The organization stated that contamination couldn’t be dismissed as the source of TMZ, matching the analytical data provided. Considering the unique circumstances of the alleged contamination, athletes were deemed not at fault. Following advice from external legal counsel, WADA concluded that an appeal wasn’t justified.
wada senior director of science and medicine Oliver Rabin said:
WADA’s scientific department extensively examined this case in June and July 2021. We even reached out to the manufacturer for additional pharmacokinetic and metabolism data on TMZ and explored various hypotheses, including low-dose TMZ doping strategies, to evaluate the credibility of the contamination scenario presented to WADA. However, we ultimately determined that there was insufficient evidence to challenge the reported contamination.
The statement emphasized that in 2022, the International Testing Agency flagged concerns to WADA about potential misreporting of the TMZ samples. WADA’s Intelligence and Investigations Department conducted an independent review and found that correct procedures had been adhered to, with no evidence of misconduct. Subsequently, in April 2023, the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) reached out to WADA via email regarding the TMZ cases, disclosing they had received information from an undisclosed source alleging concealment of the TMZ positive cases.
The organization clarified that the information was clearly inaccurate, as the TMZ positive cases had been reported and adjudicated by CHINADA and thoroughly reviewed by WADA and World Aquatics nearly two years prior. Furthermore, USADA had contacted WADA in 2020, before the TMZ positives, regarding allegations, once again from an unspecified source, of doping cover-ups within Chinese swimming.
