Sport Integrity Australia Backs USADA Call For WADA Review Of China’s Go-Free 23 Positives
Sport Integrity Australia, the anti-doping watchdog, has backed American USADA’s call for an independent review of the WADA decision to let 23 Chinese swimmers go free after they tested positive for a banned substance in a scandal now overshadowing the lead up to the Paris Olympics.
Sport Integrity Australia chief executive David Sharpe has written to the World Anti-Doping Agency – WADA – urging the global clean-sport gatekeeper to take action to restore faith in the global anti-doping system.
In a statement, SIA says: “Sport Integrity Australia has written to WADA directly, seeking clarity around the processed performed in the handling of the case. Mr Sharpe is calling on WADA to initiate an independent review of the regulatory framework and processes applied.”
Beyond the statement, Sharpe told News Corp in Australia: “We need to remember not all athletes have legal training and understand the intricacies of the World Anti-Doping Code so it is important to break this down in clear, concise facts to ensure confidence in the world anti-doping system can be restored.”
A former leading federal police officer, Sharpe said SIA was not alleging that any wrongdoing had occurred after 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for the banned drug trimetazidine six months out from the Tokyo2020one Olympics.
However, as things stand, the secrecy at the heart of the cases until they were exposed by media last weekend, has put WADA is at loggerheads with national anti-doping agencies and domestic sports federations and related organisations around the world as Paris looms large on the horizon.
WADA and World Aquatics accepted an explanation from Chinada, backed by tests said to have been conducted by Ministry of Public Security agents, that a mass contamination event at a hotel housing athletes during a January 1-3, 2021 competition that followed a training camp in the same place.
Among USADA suggestions is that leading sports nations should have checks-and-balance representatives on the WADA executive and foundation board to ensure that such “cover-ups” as that alleged to have e taken place in China cannot happen.
Sport Integrity Australia: Athletes Need To Have Confidence That All Competitions Are Fair
In its statement, SIA notes: “Sport Integrity Australia has moved to reassure Australian athletes of the agency’s commitment to ensuring the global anti-doping system is thorough, fair and transparent. Athletes in Australia and around the world need to have trust in the global anti-doping system and have confidence that all competitions are fair and that all athletes are treated fairly.
“Sport Integrity Australia’s commitment statement comes in the wake of media commentary and speculation concerning the swimming contamination matter in the lead-up to the Tokyo Olympics.“
Sharpe acknowledged WADA’s emphasis on the need for protection mechanisms in the anti-doping system to protect athletes subject to cases of contamination. However, transparency had to be a part off any process he said.