Editorial | Eliminate doping but keep politics out of international sports
- Unfair allegations against Chinese swimmers at the Paris Games show not only disrespect for the country but the entire Olympic movement, too
In 2021, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) agreed to add the word “together” to punctuate its motto – “faster, higher, stronger” – which had stood since 1894. The symbol of athletes from around the world gathering to compete in friendship was certainly welcome.
Sadly, togetherness has been in short supply at some events in Paris due to nagging claims about doping, especially targeting Chinese athletes.
The divisive atmosphere stems from the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (Wada) handling of failed drugs tests involving trimetazidine, or TMZ, ahead of the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. It was reported in April that 23 Chinese swimmers had tested positive for TMZ, a medication that boosts blood flow to the heart and thus improves endurance.
All the athletes were cleared to compete in Tokyo after Chinese anti-doping authorities said they had eaten contaminated food. Neither Wada nor Chinese authorities revealed the failed tests had happened, a regrettable lack of disclosure that contributed to the rancour in Paris, where 11 of them competed.
The controversy sparked a diplomatic war of words that has little place in international sporting competition. The US Anti-Doping Agency accuses Wada and Beijing of sweeping the offences under the carpet and a “potential cover up”.
