China's anti-doping agency criticizes media over metandienone contamination case reports

BEIJING, July 31 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA) criticized a media report for "distorting the fact and quoting the relevant case out of context" in newly flared-up contamination cases involving Chinese athletes.

CHINADA and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) provided detailed explanations following a New York Times report on Tuesday that implied a cover-up of the cases.

Two swimmers, one shooter and one BMX rider tested positive for trace amounts of the prohibited substance, metandienone, in late 2022 and early 2023, in different locations and at different times. These athletes were immediately provisionally suspended until late 2023 when the investigation concluded.

"Evidence shows that the Adverse Analytical Findings (AAFs) were caused by the athletes' unknowing ingestion of metandienone-contaminated meat products while dining out," CHINADA said in a statement Wednesday.

"As per relevant provisions in the CHINADA Anti-Doping Rules and the World Anti-Doping Code (the Code), CHINADA determined that the athletes involved bore no fault or negligence in the case and decided not to bring forward the AAFs as Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs) against them," said CHINADA in a statement on Wednesday.

CHINADA noted that meat contamination with prohibited substances is a worldwide issue and that similar cases have occurred in many countries and regions.

"It is extremely unfair and unethical for the New York Times to politicize doping cases and turned them into a convenient tool," said CHINADA.

"By frequently hyping up the globally widespread meat contamination issues, [the New York Times] actually aims at disrupting the order of the swimming competitions of the Paris Olympics, disturbing the Chinese athletes and ultimately undermining their performance at the Paris Games. The untrue report of the New York Times has seriously misled the public perception of anti-doping work and undermined the confidence of swimmers around the world in the clean swimming pool of Paris 2024. We strongly condemn and firmly reject it," added the statement.

According to WADA, the samples for the swimmers were collected on October 6, 2022, and were analyzed at the WADA-accredited laboratory in Beijing. They were found to have trace amounts of the substance in their systems (in the pg/mL range, with 1pg being a trillionth of a gram).

"They were duly notified and provisionally suspended on November 3, 2022 with the view to asserting a four-year period of ineligibility before a Chinese Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA) anti-doping tribunal," said WADA. "As the hearing was being prepared by CHINADA, athlete-commissioned testing of meat samples found a number of positive results for metandienone.

"In separate testing missions in early 2023, the shooter and BMX rider also tested positive for similarly low quantities of the same substance. These two athletes, neither of whom is competing at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, were also notified and provisionally suspended. This development led CHINADA to suspend proceedings against the two swimmers pending an investigation for possible contamination."

The investigation by CHINADA included testing of hundreds of meat samples from various sources, with dozens revealing positive results for metandienone. CHINADA also analyzed the athletes' nutritional supplements and conducted hair tests, which were negative.

"Significantly, both the swimmers provided negative doping control samples in the days before and after the single trace positive," said WADA. "Following its investigation, CHINADA concluded that the four cases were most likely linked to meat contamination and, in late 2023, closed the cases without asserting a violation, with the athletes having remained provisionally suspended throughout that time."

Earlier this month, CHINADA also criticized misleading reports from some Western media which disclosed names and other private details of 23 swimmers, some of whom were minors, in a contamination case, although they were already cleared of doping and committed no violations in 2021.

China's top swimmer Zhang Yufei expressed concerns about potential bias against the Chinese team at the Paris Olympics due to such reports.

"I think everyone should start to look at those real facts about the Chinese swimming team without 'colored glasses'," she said. "I worry that foreign athletes would be biased against me and reluctant to compete with me. I feel wronged."