WADA faces anti-doping balancing act during Paris Olympic Games

Julian Diaz-Rainey, sports disputes expert at Pinsent Masons, said: “As an organisation, WADA not only has to perform its primary role of ensuring clean sport and upholding the integrity of the Games, but is also facing criticism from high-profile Olympians, national anti-doping agencies, and even the US Congress. Indeed, the US Anti-Doping Agency has called for any future US funding of WADA to be condition on substantial reform.”

His comments follow reports by the New York Times and ARD, a German news organisation, stating that 23 Chinese swimmers, 11 of those involved in this year’s events, tested positive for the heart medication trimetazidine (TMZ), which increases blood flow to the heart, during a training camp ahead of the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. The results came to light last year, with the China Anti-Doping Agency (Chinada) claiming the athletes tested positive after unintentionally ingesting the substances following cross-contamination.

Allegations have since surfaced that WADA failed to pursue positive tests of the swimmers, who went on to win medals, including gold, at the 2021 Games.

“The aftermath is now being seen during the Paris 2024 Games, with the controversy casting a shadow over the agency’s credibility and questions about its handling of anti-doping efforts,” said Diaz-Rainey.

WADA has implemented measures during the 2024 Games to combat the concerns. They include deploying teams of independent observers (IOs) on-site at both the Olympic and Paralympic Games. These teams assess the quality, effectiveness, and reliability of anti-doping programmes, aiming to enhance both athlete and public confidence in the integrity of the testing process.

The agency has also deployed athlete engagement (AE) teams. Among these is an entirely athlete-led AE team situated in the athlete village delivering the ‘one play true team’ campaign to raise awareness about doping-free sport.

Team China swimmers were also double tested before heading to Paris. While WADA intended to ensure fairness with this testing, this resulted has resulted various media reports including some accusations of a conspiracy to disrupt the performance of the swimmers.

“As the world watches the Paris Olympics, WADA faces a delicate balance act to ensure rigorous anti-doping measures while maintaining trust and fairness. The entire anti-doping landscape may look very different by the time the Olympics arrive in Los Angeles in 2028,” said Andrew Mitchell, sports disputes and anti-doping expert at Pinsent Masons.