Chinese doping, politics and the Olympic Games
Sporting competitions at the Olympic Games are regarded as the acme of athletes’ perseverance, dedication, grit and determination as they compete at what is known as the greatest show on Earth to etch their names in the history books.
But when performance-enhancing drugs, doping, and geopolitical conflicts enter the equation, some of the sheen and glory of the Olympic Games takes a hit.
It all reaches an all-time low when those in positions of authority and power do not do what is required of them in such situations.
Case in point is the alleged Chinese swimmers’ doping scandal that has rocked the Olympic swimming pool since revelations by The New York Times in April this year.
Wada is currently under fire for its handling of the case of Chinese swimmers’ doping at Tokyo 2020 (Image source: Getty Images)
Instead of reinstating faith in the anti-doping testing system worldwide in view of a major faux pas, the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) has decided to take the United States Anti-Doping Agency (Usada), which is one of the major critics of Wada’s handling of the situation, to the Independent Compliance Review Committee.
Meanwhile, Wada has claimed that it has been unfairly caught in a geopolitical conflict over which it has no mandate at all, even though the anti-doping agency hasn’t taken any concrete action against alleged offenders regarding an issue over which it does have a legitimate mandate all over the world.
Chinese doping and politics behind the veil at the Olympics
Wada has acknowledged that there is concern about the increased incidence of contaminated food defence against doping allegations – used as an explanation by the China Anti-Doping Agency (Chinada) for the case of 23 swimmers who allegedly doped before the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
But one should keep in mind that it was not able to investigate the Chinese doping case – only accepting the results of an investigation done by Chinada itself which weren’t even known publicly until The New York Times and German broadcaster ARD disclosed the details earlier this year.
The chain of events here raises a major question mark as the agency tasked with ensuring that no doping activities take place worldwide wasn’t able to carry out an investigation itself on Chinese soil.
And on the other hand, rather than holding China to account more strictly in the doping case, Wada has levelled allegations against American athletes and Usada itself – claiming there have been several cases of highly intricate food contamination scenarios in the United States recently as well.
Usada and Wada have been at loggerheads recently (Image source: Getty Images)
In addition, as mentioned above, Wada has taken Usada to court over its handling of the Chinese doping scandal. If Usada ends up on the losing side, the United States will have to forego the hosting rights for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
And to make things even worse, it doesn’t end here, as the IOC has managed to step in and make life apparently difficult for the United States.
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Salt Lake City has been awarded the hosting rights for the 2034 Winter Olympic Games, but it comes with an enormous condition – which is that Utah officials will have to lobby to end a currently ongoing FBI investigation into the Chinese doping scandal related to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Effectively, both the IOC and Wada have decided to give a free pass to Chinada and Chinese athletes who are allegedly involved in the doping scandal and are seemingly hell-bent on stopping an FBI investigation that aims to uncover the ultimate truth of the matter in its tracks.
Thus, it is clear for everyone to see that the prestigious Olympic Games comes with its own set of political intrigues behind the stage curtain as geopolitical conflicts spill over into the sporting arena once every four years.
What happens to the sport of swimming at the Olympics, what the ramifications are for clean athletes and ultimately what reputation the IOC, Wada and the Olympic Games will have post the completion of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games is a mere afterthought for sporting officials and administrators at these organisations.
Also, the message that such actions send is one of somewhat justifying the existence of the Enhanced Games initiative, which aims to completely normalise the usage of performance-enhancing drugs and supposedly demonstrate ‘what the human body is capable of’.
Path ahead to curb doping activities
The International Testing Agency (ITA) has vowed to make “best efforts” to have tests of Chinese athletes conducted by an anti-doping authority other than Chinada, and have these tests analysed away from Chinese soil.
In addition, it also claims that it tested Chinese athletes eight times – twice as much as is standard – between the start of 2024 and the beginning of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
But, on the face of it, all these actions feel like bit-part, temporary measures aimed at pacifying the concerns of clean athletes and other anti-doping organisations for the time being.
Instead of conducting tests and investigations on Chinese soil when the doping controversy emerged in early 2021 and disclosing the results voluntarily, Wada chose to accept the findings of Chinada unconditionally and brush the positive tests under the carpet.
Right now, finding the truth of the matter in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games doping allegations might be too late for Wada or the IOC.
But, the need of the hour going forward is to go to China at regular intervals, test athletes in an independent manner, and publish the results for everyone to see.
IOC President Thomas Bach looks on at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games (Image source: Getty Images)
Only such actions can ensure clean athletes and other anti-doping organisations that cheating and using unfair means to gain an undue advantage over others does not go unpunished at future sporting mega-events.
On the other hand, bringing a legal suit against anti-doping agencies that stand for fair competition and clean athletes, and asking sporting officials to lobby to end an FBI investigation into doping activities by Chinese athletes at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games does not reinforce faith in the anti-doping testing system at all.
