Current:Home > NewsMore Chinese swimmers secretly tested positive, blamed hamburgers: Report -MoneyMatrix
More Chinese swimmers secretly tested positive, blamed hamburgers: Report
View
Date:2025-04-17 11:20:27
The Chinese swimmers doping saga has taken another twist.
Two more swimmers tested positive for trace amounts of an anabolic steroid in late 2022 but were cleared after the Chinese Anti Doping Agency (CHINADA) determined the source was most likely contaminated meat from hamburgers, according to a report from The New York Times published Tuesday. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) later confirmed the basic details of the report in a statement.
According to the Times, one of the swimmers, Tang Muhan, is on China's team at the 2024 Paris Olympics and expected to compete Thursday. The other, He Junyi, was also among the 23 swimmers who tested positive in the initial doping case, which has sent ripple effects throughout the anti-doping community.
In that case, the swimmers tested positive for banned heart medication trimetazidine but a Chinese investigation found that the source was most likely contamination from a hotel kitchen.
CHINADA did not immediately reply to a message seeking comment Tuesday but told the Times that it has always "adhered to a firm stance of 'zero tolerance' for doping" and complied with anti-doping rules.
2024 Olympic medals: Who is leading the medal count? Follow along as we track the medals for every sport.
WADA painted the Times' report as part of a broader effort by the United States to attack China.
"The politicization of Chinese swimming continues with this latest attempt by the media in the United States to imply wrongdoing on the part of WADA and the broader anti-doping community," WADA said in a statement. "As we have seen over recent months, WADA has been unfairly caught in the middle of geopolitical tensions between superpowers but has no mandate to participate in that."
According WADA, the two swimmers tested positive for "trace amounts" of the anabolic steroid metandienone in October 2022. The Times reported that He and Tang were training together at a national team facility in Beijing when they decided to stop at a restaurant for french fries, Coca-Cola and hamburgers − the latter of which were later determined to be the souce of the steroid.
WADA said the swimmers' positive tests occurred around the same time that a Chinese shooter and Chinese BMX racer also tested positive for the same steroid, prompting a broader investigation by CHINADA into meat contamination.
"Following its investigation, CHINADA concluded that the four cases were most likely linked to meat contamination and, in late 2023, closed the cases without asserting a violation, with the athletes having remained provisionally suspended throughout that time," WADA said in its statement.
The bigger issue, in critics' eyes, is that this case was not publicly disclosed at the time by CHINADA, as required under anti-doping rules even in cases where contamination is a possibility. CHINADA also did not disclose the positive tests by the 23 swimmers. And WADA did not challenge either finding, nor does it appear to have punished CHINADA for failing to disclose the positive tests.
WADA's inaction has led to a brutal, messy fight between high-powered sports organizations, including the International Olympic Committee and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.
USADA and its chief executive officer, Travis Tygart, have repeatedly and consistently ripped WADA for what it has portrayed as an attempt to sweep the Chinese doping cases under the rug. WADA has since sniped back, and the IOC has come to its defense, even going so far as to amend the host city contract that will allow the U.S. to host the 2034 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
Tuesday's report will likely only increase the ongoing interest in possible Chinese doping by U.S. lawmakers and law enforcement. Members of Congress held a hearing on the matter earlier this month, and the Department of Justice is reportedly investigating the initial 23 positive tests under the auspices of the Rodchenkov Act, which allows U.S. authorities to pursue criminal charges in doping cases that impact U.S. athletes.
Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on social media @Tom_Schad.
veryGood! (25914)
Related
- Nearly half of US teens are online ‘constantly,’ Pew report finds
- US approves F-16 fighter jet sale to Turkey, F-35s to Greece after Turkey OKs Sweden’s entry to NATO
- U.K. army chief says citizens should be ready to fight in possible land war
- Jon Stewart to return as The Daily Show host — one day a week
- Why members of two of EPA's influential science advisory committees were let go
- Why Joel Embiid missed fourth consecutive game at Denver following late scratch
- 12 most creative Taylor Swift signs seen at NFL games
- Haus Labs Review: How Lady Gaga's TikTok-Viral Foundation, Lip Lacquers and More Products Hold Up
- Residents worried after ceiling cracks appear following reroofing works at Jalan Tenaga HDB blocks
- Mexico confirms some Mayan ruin sites are unreachable because of gang violence and land conflicts
Ranking
- 'Kraven the Hunter' spoilers! Let's dig into that twisty ending, supervillain reveal
- U.S. pauses build-out of natural gas export terminals to weigh climate impacts
- Barcelona loses thriller with Villarreal, falls 10 points behind Real Madrid
- Ukraine says corrupt officials stole $40 million meant to buy arms for the war with Russia
- Nearly 400 USAID contract employees laid off in wake of Trump's 'stop work' order
- John Harbaugh credits Andy Reid for teaching him early NFL lessons
- Australian Open men's singles final: How to watch Daniil Medvedev vs. Jannik Sinner
- Aryna Sabalenka beats Zheng Qinwen to win back-to-back Australian Open titles
Recommendation
Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
How Taiwan beat back disinformation and preserved the integrity of its election
After LA police raid home of Black Lives Matter attorney, a judge orders photographs destroyed
Israeli Holocaust survivor says the Oct. 7 Hamas attack revived childhood trauma
Alex Murdaugh’s murder appeal cites biased clerk and prejudicial evidence
Parents demand answers after UIUC student found dead feet from where he went missing
A Republican state senator who’s critical of Trump enters race for New Jersey governor
Plastic surgery helped murder suspect Kaitlin Armstrong stay on the run