WADA Confirms Launch of Independent Compliance Review of USADA

The World Anti-Doping Agency confirmed it has begun a compliance review of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency with a preliminary review session in early August. The review, sent to the Independent Compliance Review Committee, is a result of the ongoing battle between WADA and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) over the handling of the case involving the 23 Chinese swimmers who tested positive for trimetazidine in 2021.

WADA first told Reuters it intended to open this review in late July. It marks the first time WADA has taken the USADA to the Independent Compliance Review Court. Reuters described the choice as “a landmark move that could jeopardise the country hosting the 2028 and 2034 Olympics,” as any country participating in or hosting an international competition must comply with the anti-doping code.

Around the same time WADA announced its intention to open this review, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) inserted a clause into Salt Lake City’s host contract from the 2034 Olympics allowing the IOC the right to withdraw the Games if the “supreme authority” of WADA “is not fully respected.”

WADA and the USADA have been trading blows since the New York Times and German broadcaster ARD broke the story about the 23 Chinese swimmers in April. The results of the positive tests were not public until April, and USADA CEO Travis Tygart has since accused WADA of a coverup. The U.S. Congress has since launched a federal investigation into the matter, with Michael Phelps and Allison Schmitt slamming WADA during their June testimonies before the House Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation.

In July, an independent prosecutor ruled that WADA showed no bias in its handling of the case. However, the U.S. can continue investigating the case under the 2019 Rodchenkov Act. The Act extends the U.S.’s jurisdiction to an international sporting competition with financial connections to the U.S. or where American athletes participated and allows the U.S. to bring criminal charges against people found to have violated anti-doping law. This Act is part of the compliance review brought by WADA.

When WADA announced the review, Tygart told Reuters in a statement “WADA is continuing the retaliation on those asking for answers from them for allowing China to sweep 23 positive cases under the rug. They’re running scared instead of being transparent and I guess we will see how independent the CRC is or is not. The whole system is crumbling under this WADA leadership and clean athletes deserve better.”

The next day, United States Olympic and Paralympic chief Gene Sykes backed WADA’s anti-doping code, telling reporters “I’ll say this as clearly as I can — we accept, we support, we subscribe to the world anti-doping code.”