{"id":605121,"date":"2025-02-21T03:30:34","date_gmt":"2025-02-21T10:30:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=605121"},"modified":"2025-02-21T06:43:54","modified_gmt":"2025-02-21T13:43:54","slug":"world-anti-doping-agency-drops-defamation-lawsuit-against-usada","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/world-anti-doping-agency-drops-defamation-lawsuit-against-usada\/","title":{"rendered":"World Anti-Doping Agency Drops Defamation Lawsuit Against USADA"},"content":{"rendered":"

World Anti-Doping Agency Drops Defamation Lawsuit Against USADA<\/strong><\/p>\n

The World Anti-Doping Agency has dropped its defamation lawsuit against the United States Anti-Doping Agency stemming from WADA\u2019s handling of positives tests of Chinese swimmers in 2021.<\/p>\n

The New York Times<\/em> reported on Thursday<\/a> that WADA dropped the suit it had filed in Swiss court against USADA and its director, Travis Tygart.<\/strong> Tygart had criticized WADA\u2019s handling of 23 Chinese swimmers who tested positive for a banned substance before the Tokyo Olympics but were exonerated by WADA, which determined it a matter of environmental contamination.<\/p>\n

WADA also dropped an ethics case against Dr. Rahul Gupta,<\/strong> who represented the United States on WADA\u2019s executive board.<\/p>\n

News of the actions was first reported by Honest Sport <\/em>on Wednesday<\/a>.<\/p>\n

WADA said the move was \u201cin the interest of moving on and focusing our efforts on strengthening the global antidoping system.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe dismissal of the unauthorized and baseless lawsuit against USADA and the ethics complaint against the White House is complete vindication for us both,\u201d the USADA said in a statement to The Times<\/em>. \u201c\u2026 WADA\u2019s actions were nothing more than retaliatory, wasteful and abusive attempts to suppress the truth and the voice of those seeking answers to why WADA allowed China to blatantly disregard the rules for 23 elite swimmers who tested positive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among the events proceeding WADA\u2019s action was the announcement on Jan. 8<\/a> that the White House Office of National Drug Policy (ONDCP) was withholding its 2024 dues payment to WADA of $3.6 million. The U.S. is one of the biggest funders of WADA.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause WADA failed to uniformly enforce the global rules in place to protect the integrity of competition and athletes\u2019 rights to fairness, significant reform at WADA must occur to ensure this never happens again,\u201d Tygart said in a Jan. 8 statement, noting that dues paid to WADA are voluntary. Gupta was the director of ONDCP during the administration of President Joe Biden.<\/p>\n

The suit\u2019s dismissal brings a d\u00e9tente in the saber-rattling between two of the world\u2019s foremost anti-doping authorities. The precipitating event was the positive tests of 23 Chinese swimmers during a training camp in early 2021. WADA was informed of those tests by the Chinese Anti-Doping Agency just before the Tokyo Olympics and elected not to overturn CHINADA\u2019s determination that they were caused by environmental contamination, a conclusion that was not wholly supported by the facts of the case. Several of the athletes involved went on to win medals at the Tokyo Olympics that year.<\/p>\n

Reporting in 2024 brought the positive tests to light, and the USADA was one of the primary governing entities criticizing WADA for its judgement of the results and the suppression of the information. Tygart was unsparing in his assessment<\/a> that WADA chose to \u201ccherry pick\u201d an ostensibly independent prosecutor to review the handling of the case, accusing the organization\u2019s leadership of, \u201ctrying to pull the wool over our eyes.\u201d A federal inquiry into the handling of the doping positives by WADA led the International Olympic Committee to apply pressure not to award<\/a> the 2034 Winter Olympics to the Salt Lake City in the United States and included a termination clause over the FBI\u2019s investigation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Read more on the Chinese doping controversy:<\/p>\n