World Anti-Doping Agency drops lawsuit against United States counterpart
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World Anti-Doping Agency director general Olivier Niggli attending the World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium on March 12, 2024.
PHOTO: REUTERS
WASHINGTON – The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) said on Feb 21 it has dropped its lawsuit against the United States Anti-Doping Agency (Usada) in a dispute involving 23 Chinese swimmers who failed drug tests in the lead-up to the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
News of the positive tests led to a war of words between the two agencies and an investigation by Swiss prosecutor Eric Cottier, who determined that Wada had not shown “favouritism or complacency” towards China.
The swimmers were not punished after Wada accepted Chinese authorities’ explanation that they were exposed to the banned substance trimetazidine through contamination from spice containers in the kitchen of a hotel where they were staying.
Usada argued that the swimmers should have been provisionally suspended and blasted Wada for what it said was a lack of transparency around the situation.
Wada said it had filed the lawsuit against Usada and its chief executive officer Travis Tygart to protect its reputation, but now feels vindicated by Cottier’s findings.
“In the interest of moving on and focusing our efforts on strengthening the global anti-doping system that the community has worked hard to build together over 25 years, Wada has made the decision to withdraw the lawsuit against Mr Tygart and Usada,” Wada said in a statement.
Tygart has said in the past he was not satisfied with Cottier’s conclusions.
In a Usada statement, he described Wada’s lawsuit as “unauthorised and baseless” and claimed “complete vindication” after its withdrawal.
“It’s time for those who value clean sport to step up and get Wada right, as athletes deserve a fair, robust global watchdog to protect their rights to fair competition,” he said.
In January, the Joe Biden administration said it withheld major funding for the agency, with the latter removing the US government’s representative from its board.
Wada said the unpaid dues totalled US$3.625 million (S$4.8 million). The American contribution is matched by the International Olympic Committee and would ultimately make up 14 per cent of the organisation’s estimated US$52 million budget for 2024.
The agency’s 2025 operating budget has been set at US$57.5 million, said its spokesperson.
The question of whether the US will provide funding for 2025 will fall to the second Trump administration, which took an adversarial approach to Wada during President Donald Trump’s first term.
Usada celebrated the Office of National Drug Control Policy’s stance in January, calling the position “the only right choice”. REUTERS, AFP
