USADA says it ‘fully supports’ US government’s decision to withhold $3.6M payment from World Anti-Doping Agency
The decision stems from WADA's handling of a case involving 23 Chinese swimmers.
By Matias Grez, CNN
(CNN) — The US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) says it “fully supports” the US government’s decision to withhold a $3.625 million payment to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) that was due on December 31, 2024.
USADA’s decision comes after a months-long dispute between the two anti-doping organizations that stems from WADA’s handling of a case involving Chinese swimmers.
It was revealed in April last year that WADA had cleared 23 Chinese swimmers to compete at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, despite all of them testing positive for the banned heart drug trimetazidine (TMZ).
WADA accepted the Chinese Anti-Doping Agency’s (CHINADA) explanation that the swimmers’ positive tests were the result of contamination, likely from a hotel restaurant, leading to accusations from USADA that the organization had swept the cases “under the carpet.”
In response, WADA defended its role in the Chinese swimmers case, slamming USADA’s “outrageous, completely false and defamatory remarks.”
WADA also said at the time that it was “not in a position to disprove” the contamination explanation offered by CHINADA.
“USADA fully supports this decision by the White House as the only right choice to protect athletes’ rights, accountability, and fair competition,” USADA CEO Travis Tygart said in a statement on Wednesday.
“Unfortunately, the current WADA leaders left the US with no other option after failing to deliver on several very reasonable requests, such as an independent audit of WADA’s operations, to achieve the transparency and accountability needed to ensure WADA is fit for purpose to protect athletes.
“Since the exposure of WADA’s failed handling of the 23 Chinese swimmers’ positive tests that gave China and its athletes special treatment under the rules, many stakeholders from around the world, including athletes, governments, and National Anti-Doping Agencies, have sought answers, transparency, and accountability from WADA leadership.”
Tygart added that “significant reform” is required at WADA to “ensure this never happens again.”
In a statement sent to CNN, WADA said: “The World Anti-Doping Agency confirms that it did not receive the agreed contribution to Wada’s 2024 budget from the government of the United States by the deadline of 31 December 2024.”
US representatives will now be ineligible to sit on WADA’s foundation board or executive committee, according to the statement, with the next two global sports events – the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Los Angeles Olympics – taking place in the USA.
The statement also added that WADA’s overall 2025 budget is $57.5 million.
In May last year, US lawmakers called on the US Department of Justice and the International Olympic Committee to launch inquiries into the controversy and, in August, World Aquatics confirmed to CNN that the US government was pursuing a criminal investigation into the Chinese swimmers case.
An independent report into the case cleared WADA of bias in August and said it appeared “reasonable” that WADA did not lodge an appeal against CHINADA’s explanation, but was critical of the global anti-doping body’s “disorganization.”
The-CNN-Wire
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