The ongoing rift between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) continues this week as the global anti-doping authority responded to claims made by USADA CEO Travis Tygart at a U.S. Senate subcommittee hearing last week.
Tygart told senators that the Chinese swimmers who tested positive for Trimetazidine (TMZ) in 2021 would have had to eat around 11 pounds of food to test for the amounts of TMZ they did.
“It’s unbelievable to think that Tinkerbell just showed up and sprinkled it all over the kitchen,” Tygart said in the Senate hearing, according to The Associated Press.
USADA scientists reportedly analyzed data from a report commissioned by WADA to come up with the amount of food (11 lbs/5 kilograms) or liquid (4.9 liters) the athletes would have had to consume to test positive at the levels they did.
On Monday, WADA released a statement to Russian state-sponsored media agency TASS disputing Tygart’s claims.
“Mr. Tygart’s statement is not based on science or facts. It appears to have been made simply to support his pre-conceived narrative,” WADA said, according to TASS. “The fact is that the traces of trimetazidine found in the athletes’ samples are consistent with the consumption of contaminated food or liquid. All scientific experts involved in the review of the circumstances of this case agreed with this.
“By presenting his sensational speculations as facts, Mr. Tygart misled the Senate subcommittee and the public. It is unfortunate that some media outlets have disseminated them without questioning their veracity.”
After the 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for TMZ in early 2021, Chinese authorities ruled that the positive tests came from food contamination in the hotel where they were staying during a training camp.
WADA accepted that explanation, and the positive tests never became public until April 2024.
Tygart has been at the forefront of the ongoing saga between USADA and WADA, which led to the U.S. White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) withholding its annual $3.6 million payment to WADA.
WADA President Witold Banka had a public back-and-forth with Tygart last year, calling him out for hypocrisy and trying to politicize anti-doping in the United States.
“On Monday, WADA released a statement to Russian state-sponsored media agency TASS disputing Tygart’s claims.” At this point, you’ve lost all credibility.
It’s hilarious that WADA could write a sentence including the words, “without questioning their veracity.”
No one looks good in this situation, but I also don’t understand how Tygart possibly came up with those numbers.
As far as I know, they didn’t test the ACTUAL food/drink consumed that caused the tests (because the tests were months later), they tested the kitchen. So how could Tygart possibly know the concentration of the substance in the food alleged to have been consumed?
Like… just from a logical perspective, Tygart has clearly just invented a number to make it seem ludicrous. Considering USADA called individual swimmers and told them their medals were being upgraded to gold before anything was even public, USADA has made it clear they’re willing to be less than truthful if it suits their agenda.
can’t understand why some people seem to be backing USADA on this one.
Do you actually believe the heart medication that keeps popping up around Russian and Chinese athletes is just a containment in the Chinese food supply, oops these things happen?
There was a case recently in the US where a star female track athlete did try tuat excuse – “I got a burrito from a food truck it was containmination” – didn’t work – as much as will point out the very real hypocrisy and instances of the US not have cleaning hands, I do think they can talk here
I don’t think he probably invented a number. I’m sure there’s some mathematical basis for it based on something in some report somewhere.
I would fully believe if he extrapolated some data in a way it shouldn’t have been, or took the “worst case scenario,” or did some fuzzy math, but I think it’s unlikely that in testimony to congress that he just threw a dart at a board and said “11 pounds.” I’d bet he has some explanation for how he got to that number – even if it’s not a good explanation or math.
Ok perhaps “invented” wasn’t the right word. I’m sure there are numbers from a report that have been used in some way. But if you don’t have to show your work, then it’s easy to turn any number into any other number, and it’s really not any better than completely fabricating them.
Like how Trump’s “reciprocal tariffs” calculations were based on real numbers, but the actual equation to calculate them was completely nonsensical and gave a result that was completely unrelated to reciprocal tariffs.
Of course I’m not happy with how the situation was handled by WADA, but USADA really has zero credibility on this issue. ESPECIALLY after sweeping Knighton under the rug.
mom & dad are fighting again & only fanning the enhanced flame.
not saying that thats why they had those levels of TMZ but if anything wants to make you eat 11 pounds of food its hard swim training lol
“It’s not doping, just low grade mystery meat! Also you are a xenophobic, racist, bigot portraying China as backwards according to a preconceived western imperialist pigdog narrative” – WADA
I think they just dealt with it by just shutting off comments for a bit lol
Honestly fair seems to have worked
As is often the case in the last few years, I think both sides are wrong (and they both know it)
Can we maybe admit that part of the reason WADA and China were so brazen is that the US has zero credibility? “Congress is investigating”…