Analysis | Doping, double standards and how TUEs muddy the waters of China row with the US over Wada
- The accusations flung at China’s swimmers in Paris form part of a larger row between the world’s two superpowers
Not one swimmer competing at the Paris Olympics has failed a recent drugs test, that we know of, and yet the stench of doping accusations and allegations clung to La Defense Arena throughout nine days of intense competition.
This was a Games where the word trimetazidine, or TMZ, was on the lips of those around the pool, as much as the names of its superstar performers: Leon Marchand, Kaylee McKeown and Pan Zhanle.
What’s more, because of the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (Wada) approach, this is an issue that promises to run and run.
Wada are under fire from the United States Anti-Doping Agency [Usada] for their handling of failed drugs tests before the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
And the matter has developed into a diplomatic row, with China and the US locking horns on a seemingly daily basis.
How did we get here?
In April, reports surfaced that 23 Chinese swimmers who tested positive for TMZ, a medication that increases blood flow to the heart, thereby improving endurance, before the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 had been cleared to compete, with neither Wada, nor Chinese authorities revealing it had happened.
