WADA in deep crisis over tussle with U.S. What you need to know

The global anti-doping system is in crisis. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is in active conflict with the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and is considering imposing sanctions on American sport. The U.S. is responding by refusing to fund WADA, calling for reforms to the organization and threatening to enforce the "Rodchenkov Law." What consequences this dispute will lead to and whether there will be a crisis of the entire world sport - in the material of "Izvestia".

How Chinese swimmers caused a rift

- The rift in the global anti-doping community began in April 2024, when the American newspaper The New York Times and German TV channel ARD reported on a doping scandal in Chinese swimming. According to the journalists, in January 2021, 23 swimmers tested positive for trimetazidine - the same substance that led to the four-year disqualification of Russian figure skater Kamila Valiyeva. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the incident was investigated by the China Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA) without WADA's involvement.

- The Chinese side determined that an employee of the hotel where the athletes were staying contaminated the kitchen with trimetazidine, causing the substance to enter their bodies with their food. Its concentration was allegedly low enough to suggest unintentional use. WADA therefore decided not to sanction the athletes or even report the incident. Many of the swimmers went on to compete at the 2021 Olympic Games, and four of them won medals.

- The release of this information to the media led to outrage against WADA. Discontent was especially loud in the United States, for which swimming is one of the top medal sports. USADA called WADA a fox guarding the henhouse, accused it of favoring China and trying to hush up the scandal. The main critic of WADA was USADA head Travis Teigert, who demanded that the global agency carry out reforms and prove its independence.

- To settle the conflict, it was decided to review the case with the participation of an independent prosecutor from Switzerland, Eric Cottier. He concluded that WADA and CHINADA had followed procedures and had not made any mistakes. However, even before the investigation was completed, Teigert said Cottier could not be trusted because he works as a prosecutor in the same canton where WADA holds its annual symposium and where the World Swimming Federation is headquartered.

- USADA has called on the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Justice for help in its fight against WADA. Hearings were held in the U.S. Congress with the participation of famous athletes, where the accusations of the world agency in bias continued. At the same time, threats were made to stop funding WADA and to start enforcing the "Rodchenkov Law" - according to which the U.S. imposes the right to punish anyone who has harmed an American athlete by his manipulations with doping.

What claims WADA has against the U.S.

- In the face of unprecedented pressure for the sport, WADA did not give up its line and began to respond. The agency's president, Witold Banka, regularly began to point out the questionable decisions that USADA itself made with regard to American athletes. Previously, the active criticism of national decisions was mainly directed at Russia.

- Continuing to respond to USADA's criticism, Banka said that 90% of American athletes are not under the WADA anti-doping code, and of the remaining 31% are not tested for doping. The head of the agency touched on the sore subject of US professional and collegiate leagues, which do not comply with international anti-doping requirements and are not embedded in the WADA system.

- In another statement, WADA reproached the U.S. for the fact that 75% of American athletes participating in the 2024 Olympics in Paris went through university sports without proper doping control. At the same time, the system of university sports created in the U.S. involved many representatives of other countries, temporarily removing them from the field of global anti-doping standards. WADA separately focused on the fact that USADA collected only 7,773 samples from 3,011 athletes in 2023. This is not only out of step with the size of the country, but also inferior to the figures of Russia and China, both of whom have been so vigorously criticized in the US for their fight against doping.

- "Rodchenkov's Law" has become another reason for retaliatory criticism of American sport. WADA believes that its extraterritoriality jeopardizes the integrity of the entire industry - any athlete or coach involved in doping will be at risk of prosecution if they come to the U.S. to compete. Although there have been no such precedents so far, a heated conflict with WADA would unleash the U.S. authorities.

What the conflict in anti-doping will lead to

- The confrontation between the two anti-doping bodies is not the first time. In 2021, the cause for discord was the fact that USADA considered the punishment for the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) for non-compliance with the WADA code to be too lenient. Russia was banned from hosting competitions and competing under its flag for four years, and after an appeal, the sanctions were reduced to two years and were set to expire on December 16, 2022. The current strained relations can be considered an echo of those scandals.

- Then, in 2021, the conflict had no real consequences, although the US threatened to stop funding WADA. This time they did decide to take that step. The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), which pays USADA's bills, suspended the payment for 2024 in the amount of $3.6 million. This amount is 14% of the entire WADA budget for 2025. A country's refusal to pay, according to WADA rules, results in the loss of its representation on the agency's governing bodies. The organization confirmed that the American Raul Gupta, just the head of ONDCP, loses his membership in the executive committee of WADA.

- Theoretically, WADA can go further and apply even tougher sanctions against the United States, and now this is the main intrigue of the conflict. Back in the summer, it became known that WADA began a review of USADA for compliance with the anti-doping code. The consequences for its signatories, whose activities are recognized as not compliant, may already include restrictions on the acceptance of international competitions and participation of athletes. WADA has already repeatedly applied such sanctions not only against Russia, but also against other countries. The reasons for the application of sanctions, as the 2024 picking showed, may be enough. These are the problems of university sports, the adoption of the "Rodchenkov law", and the US attempt to exert political pressure on WADA.

- However, experts have no confidence that the legal consequences will come. The U.S. is the world's top sports power not only in terms of results, but also sponsorship. They will host a number of major competitions in the coming years, including two Olympics in 2028 and 2034. WADA's decision to strip the tournaments will be unprecedented - previously, only world wars have canceled the Olympics, but not a skirmish between two non-profit organizations.

- No matter how the dispute ends, experts already recognize a crisis of confidence in WADA. Throughout 2024, the parties to the conflict deliberately brought the discussion into the public domain, which aroused the interest of both the media and third parties involved in the fight against doping. The consequence of such an active and unprecedented debate amongst sports officials was that it became impossible for outside observers to firmly identify the position of one side or the other. This only served to further divide the formerly monolithic anti-doping community.

- At the same time, WADA has driven itself into a situation where it must try to impose serious enough sanctions on the U.S. to preserve its reputation. If all of this remains unchallenged, it will signal to a number of countries that the threats are not working and that the fight against doping is not being conducted as it should be. At the same time, an attempt to cancel the competitions in the United States and force it to give up the star-spangled flag will cause a hysterical reaction from American politicians and businessmen who are used to the dominance of their sport.

- It will be possible to try to resolve the controversy after the election of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) president on March 20, when Thomas Bach will leave the position. The IOC is the founder of WADA and is primarily interested in the efficient and transparent operation of the global anti-doping system, in which all parties will have confidence. In addition, in May, presidential elections will be held in WADA itself, and the current head of the organization Witold Banka will leave his post on December 31, 2025. His predecessor will have to choose whether to continue the confrontation or make concessions.

In preparing the material Izvestia spoke with:

• Margarita Pakhnotskaya, former deputy director general of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency;
• Leonid Tyagachev, Honorary President of the Russian Olympic Committee.