Wada renews call for Usada to get tougher on testing

LOS ANGELES – The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) has renewed its call for the United States Anti-Doping Agency (Usada) to better protect clean sport in the US, amid what it says are growing concerns about athletes attending major events without being sufficiently tested.

According to a Wada letter viewed by Reuters on Sept 9 that was sent to Usada board chair Tobie Smith last week, 90 per cent of all athletes in the US compete outside the protection of the anti-doping code.

Wada said it received a letter in July on behalf of 32 national and regional anti-doping organisations from Europe, Asia and Africa – who appear concerned the US are sending athletes to major events like the Olympics and world championships without being sufficiently tested in advance.

“It is surely time to address these issues that directly concern Usada and US athletes,” Wada said in its letter to Usada that called for reforms of the anti-doping system within the US, especially when it comes to college sports.

The letter was signed by Wada president Witold Banka and director-general Olivier Niggli.

Usada called the letter an “attempt at deflection” ahead of the Sept 12 complete report by Swiss prosecutor Eric Cottier into the case of 23 Chinese swimmers who tested positive for banned substances but were cleared to compete at the Tokyo Olympics.

In July, Cottier found Wada did not mishandle or show favouritism in the case of the Chinese swimmers, who were cleared by a Chinese investigation which said they were inadvertently exposed to trimetazidine – a medication that increases blood flow to the heart – through food contamination.

Wada’s letter also cited comments from Usada chief Travis Tygart, who, while speaking before the US Senate Committee on Commerce in February 2020, expressed concern that foreign athletes could come to the US for a “doping vacation” where they are subject to “a pretty weak anti-doping programme in the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association)”.

“It should be hugely concerning for Usada that so many top athletes are competing in a US system that fails to protect their interests, their performances and, ultimately, their health,” Wada wrote.

“We are sure it horrifies you to know that top overseas athletes may be taking ‘doping vacations’ on US soil. Wada has raised this matter on many occasions for more than 10 years, but our concerns have not been addressed.”

Wada also cited figures released by the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee, which said 75 per cent of American athletes who competed at the Paris Olympics came through the collegiate system.

“That is three-quarters of American Olympians who were at one point part of an elite system that operates far below the globally-recognised clean sport standard,” the letter wrote.

In response, Usada said in a statement that Wada is “running scared” and trying to “deflect from its own failure to do its job” as the global regulator, in the handling of the case of the Chinese swimmers.

“If Wada leadership bothered looking into all the data, not just the pieces that serve its agenda, it would know that 100 per cent of US NCAA athletes who competed at the Paris Games were tested by Usada in 2024,” said Tygart.

“Unfortunately, the over-the-top attacks today by Wada leaders have probably completely undermined that effort.” REUTERS