China anti-doping body says will ‘never’ share swimmers probe file

China’s anti-doping agency said on Thursday it will “never” agree to a US demand to release details of its investigation into 23 swimmers who tested positive for banned substances ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.

“Such request, without any legal basis, is in violation of the World Anti-Doping Code and the legitimate rights and interest of the athletes,” said the China Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA) in a statement.

“We will never accept the request for the publication of the case file made by USADA and certain members of the U.S. Congress,” it added, referring to the United States Anti-Doping Agency by its acronym.

CHINADA’s remarks came after United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) chief executive Travis Tygart and US swimmers Michael Phelps and Allison Schmitt appeared before a Congressional oversight and investigations subcommittee hearing in Washington on Tuesday.

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They took aim at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) over its handling of recent revelations concerning 23 Chinese swimmers who tested positive for banned prescription heart medication trimetazidine (TMZ) in early 2021 before the pandemic-delayed Games.

None of the swimmers were suspended or sanctioned after WADA accepted the explanation of Chinese authorities that the results were caused by food contamination at a hotel where they had stayed together.

In separate revelations published by The New York Times last week, it emerged that three of the swimmers — including two 2021 Tokyo Olympic gold medallists and a current world record holder — tested positive for banned substances several years earlier.

Phelps and Schmitt said athletes’ trust in WADA had been damaged by the scandal, while Tygart said failure to reform the agency would be an “unacceptable injustice” to athletes, fans and sponsors.

In June, China named 11 of the swimmers implicated in the doping scandal in its Paris Olympics team, with the Games set to begin next month.