China slams USA: 'Systemic doping problem in U.S. track and field'

The escalating tensions between the Chinese Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA) and the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) have ratcheted up in the past few months. As if things couldn’t get any more heated, CHINADA is now making some serious accusations against USADA.

CHINADA has officially requested that an independent probe be launched against USADA after Reuters reported that USADA permitted athletes who failed drug tests to continue to compete.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) appears to agree with CHINADA in that the matter needs to be reviewed closely. According to Barron’s, WADA said the US’ decision was “in direct contravention of the World Anti-Doping Code,” and “threatened the integrity of sporting competition.”

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CHINADA wrote, “USADA’s practice…seriously damaged fair competition in sports and the rights and interests of clean athletes, and showed that its anti-doping work lacked transparency.”

Perhaps CHINADA’s most scathing commentary came in reference to the dispute USADA and CHINADA have waged a war of words on for months. According to Barron’s, CHINADA’s statement said the US engaged in “double standards” by criticizing the anti-doping policies of other countries, while “turning a blind eye” to its own issues.

USADA has contended that CHINADA was negligent in its duties by allowing 23 swimmers who tested positive for a banned substance in the 2020 Olympics to participate in the Games anyway. This was exposed via reporting from the New York Times and German media outlet ARD.

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While USADA has focused their attention on Chinese swimmers, CHINADA has come back and cast doubt on the legitimacy of United States track and field accomplishments. The Star’s website quotes CHINADA’s statement, “there is reason to suspect that there is a systemic doping problem in track and field in the United States.”

CHINADA is narrowing their focus on the case of sprinter Erriyon Knighton. According to The Star’s website, he tested positive for a banned substance in March, but was permitted to participate in the Paris Olympics. An independent third party ruled that the positive test likely came from contaminated meat.

In light of this, CHINADA has requested that USADA increase the amount of testing it does on track and field athletes, as they wondered why more positive tests were not discovered.

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Ironically, USADA and CHINADA have bickered about nearly the exact same set of circumstances. CHINADA contended that the 2020 Olympic swimmers who tested positive were also unfairly judged by a situation involving contaminated food. It’s anyone’s guess as to how long the two country’s agencies will continue to trade barbs.