New Delhi, June 26 (IANS) The most decorated athlete in Olympics history, Michael Phelps has stated that the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) can no longer be trusted following China’s swimming contingent getting caught in a doping scandal.
In April, WADA had confirmed that 23 Chinese swimmers were tested positive for trimetazidine, a banned substance, in 2020 ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.
The China Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA) declared that they had unintentionally ingested the chemical and were allowed to compete at the event where the 30-member national swimming team won six medals, three of which were gold.
Wada accepted the Chinese anti-doping agency’s findings that the swimmers were accidently exposed to the drug through contamination, allowing them to compete in Paris
“It is clear to me that any attempts of reform at Wada have fallen short, and there are still deeply rooted systemic problems that prove detrimental to the integrity of international sports and athletes’ right to fair competition, time and time again.”
“As athletes, our faith can no longer be blindly placed in the World Anti-Doping Agency, an organisation that continuously proves that it is either incapable or unwilling to enforce its policies consistently around the world,” said Phelps at the congressional hearing held to review anti-doping measures in place ahead of the 2024 Olympics.
–IANS
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