(left-right) James Fitzgerald. Head of Media Relations, Witold Ba?ka, President, WADA, Olivier Niggli, Director General, WADA and Darren Mullaly, Chair, WADA Independent Observer Team during the World Anti-Doping Agency press conference at the Main Press Centre, Paris.
The China Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA) applauds the International Olympic Committee's deci-sion to award the 2034 Winter Olympics to Salt Lake City, but stressed the fact that the award is con-ditional on the US side's full support for WADA. The agency's congratulations come amid US efforts to sensationalize the Chinese swimmers food contamination case in 2021. The 142nd Session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that concluded on Wednesday decided to award the hosting rights of the 2034 Winter Olympics to Salt Lake City, Utah, the US. This decision is contingent upon the host's commitment to support WADA and the global anti-doping system.
The IOC specifies that if WADA's authority is not respected or the implementation of the World Anti-Doping Code is obstructed or undermined, Salt Lake City's hosting rights could be at risk of termination.
In the statement released on Thursday addressing Salt Lake City's winning bid, the China Anti-Doping Agency emphasized its intention to work with all stakeholders to support WADA in achieving independent, fair, consistent and effective anti-doping governance worldwide.
Since April, the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has fabricated and presented misleading information, causing international confusion about the 2021 case involving 23 Chinese swimmers involved in a contamination incident with trimetazidine (TMZ), by questioning WADA's review result of the case.
WADA said that after a thorough review, it accepted the conclusion that the positive test result was due to contamination and the Chinese swimmers were not found to be at fault. WADA stated there is no reason to appeal the decision of the China Anti-Doping Center.
USADA has also incited the US Department of Justice and the FBI to use the "long-arm jurisdiction" granted by the Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act to intervene in this case.
This action not only severely damages the legal rights and personal safety of the Chinese athletes and related individuals but also threatens to undermine the global anti-doping legal framework and disrupt the international consensus on anti-doping.
CHINADA urges USADA to cease the creation of false narratives and politically motivated manipulations and stop disrupting the global anti-doping order.
The Chinese swim team has faced unprecedented levels of anti-doping scrutiny, undergoing nearly 200 tests in the 10 days since they have arrived in France at the beginning of July, according to Yu Liang, the national swim team nutritionist.
This intensive testing regime has sparked concerns about the impact on athletes' rest and preparation for the upcoming Paris Olympic Games.
