Drug chiefs to hold extraordinary meeting in Chinese swimmers case, say members will get to question Wada on stance
- World Anti-Doping Agency says meeting will allow experts to be questioned over approach to incident
- China claim positive tests were a result of food contamination at a hotel where swimmers had stayed
The World Anti-Doping Agency said it would hold an extraordinary meeting this week to discuss the case of 23 Chinese swimmers who tested positive for a prescription heart drug.
Wada, which has its headquarters in Montreal, said a virtual meeting of its foundation board had been scheduled for Friday at 7am local time (7pm Hong Kong Time).
In a statement, the agency said the objective of the meeting was to “provide members with the opportunity to be further informed on this important matter by Wada experts and to be able to ask any questions that they may have”.
Wada came under fire in April after it was revealed that the Chinese swimmers tested positive for the heart drug trimetazidine – which can enhance performance – ahead of the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
The swimmers were not suspended or sanctioned after Wada accepted the explanation of Chinese authorities that the results were caused by food contamination at a hotel where they had stayed.
Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva was stripped of the gold medal she won at the 2022 Beijing Winter Games and banned for four years for a similar offence.