“Rodchenkov Law” and Chinese Swimmers’ Case Threaten US Olympics
The “Rodchenkov Law” and the Chinese swimmers’ case have put the 2028 and 2034 Olympic Games in the United States at risk. This was stated by former International Olympic Committee member and former head of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Richard Pound. His words are quoted by Reuters.
“This law is not consistent with the anti-doping code. I believe one of the steps that WADA will take at this stage is to refer this particular matter to a compliance review committee,” he said. Pound believed that if American law enforcement overreached in investigating the positive tests of the 23 Chinese swimmers, the country could be stripped of the Olympics.
On April 20, it became known that in January 2021, the banned drug trimetazidine was found in samples from 23 Chinese swimmers. China said traces of the drug were found in the kitchen of the hotel where the athletes were staying. WADA considered that there was no evidence of doping, so the swimmers were allowed to compete in the Tokyo Olympics.
USADA CEO Travis Tygart accused WADA and the Chinese agency CHINADA of concealing information. Later, the US questioned the independence of the prosecutor appointed to investigate the case.
The Rodchenkov Act, signed in 2020 by the former head of the Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory and WADA whistleblower, provides for criminal prosecution for cases of doping collusion at competitions involving the United States.
Source: Lenta
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