Grant Hackett has slammed the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for its perceived failures in handling doping cases, particularly concerning Chinese swimmers allowed to compete in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics despite failing drug tests.
The Australian swimming champion highlighted a ‘credibility issue’ within WADA and expressed sympathy for Australian swimmer Shayna Jack, who was disheartened by her own doping scandal experience.
A media report exposed that 23 Chinese swimmers were cleared by WADA to compete after testing positive for the performance-enhancing drug trimetazidine, attributed to sample contamination.
Meanwhile, Shayna Jack missed the Tokyo Olympics and faced a two-year ban after testing positive for ligandrol, another banned substance, although her legal team argued it was also due to contamination.
It was a situation that Hackett says underscores inconsistencies and controversies in international doping regulations and enforcement.
Australian swimming champion has slammed the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)
Chinese swimmer Sun Yang was suspended for eight years by the World Anti-Doping Agency in 2020 after smashing vials of blood during a 2018 doping test
WADA has been criticised for not being consistent across the board after Chinese swimmers were allowed to complete in Tokyo despite testing positive to banned substances
‘There’s a credibility issue there, most certainly,’ Hackett told Fairfax Media.
‘Athletes that have been caught, or who have had something in their system which found its way there that wasn’t necessarily through their own means, have all gone through a very transparent process and it’s always been disclosed.
‘The fact this wasn’t an open process, it wasn’t disclosed, we found out through the media through an investigation.
‘It makes you think, ‘Well, why isn’t WADA having the same playbook for one particular nation or a particular set of athletes versus other athletes that have gone through it?’.
‘So of course there are question marks over that.’
Australian swimmer Shayna Jack had to fight to clear her name after also testing positive
In April, WADA stated that after reviewing the contamination theory proposed by CHINADA with the help of scientists and external lawyers, they couldn’t conduct their own investigation in China because of a Covid lockdown.
Consequently, they were unable to refute the possibility of contamination and concluded that the 23 athletes were not at fault.
‘They stand by their process and what they did. However, I think a lot of other people are sitting around the table and saying, ‘Well, you’ve been inconsistent. Why?’,’ Hackett said.
‘I think there’s a lot of questions that remain unanswered on things, and until those things get fully addressed it’s hard not to sit here and think, ‘Well, did someone do something wrong?’, and if they didn’t, ‘Why didn’t it go through the formal channels? Why wasn’t it transparent? Why wasn’t it disclosed?’.
‘I’m not going to sit here and point the finger and call people guilty, but at the end of the day, you want to see a consistent process that everyone has to endure if something does go wrong, whether it was your fault or not.’
Chinese swimmers Junxuan Yang, Yufei Zhang, Bingjie Li and Muhan Tang pose with their gold medals at the Tokyo games
Jack’s mental health suffered during the positive test scandal to the point she considered taking her own life
Jack’s suspension was overturned in July 2021, and she is now preparing to qualify for her first Olympics.
The 25-year-old sprinter is training for the Australian Olympic trials, which are scheduled to occur in Brisbane from June 10-15.
During her ban, Jack faced allegations of doping and significant media attention, which led her to a point where she contemplated suicide.
‘Completely disheartened,’ Hackett said when asked how Jack must be feeling after the China drugs bombshell.
‘Could you imagine going through the process that she did?’
Jack’s two-year ban would have ‘felt like an eternity’, Hackett said.
‘She was basically labelled a drug cheat for a very, very long time, until there was a level of innocence that finally came through, which went through an official process,’ Hackett added.
‘[Jack would be] sitting there thinking, ‘I went through that to demonstrate my innocence in a situation that was very, very difficult. Why isn’t everybody else going through the same situation if they’re in the exact same circumstances that I was?’.
‘It just feels unfair.’
Lifeline 13 11 14; beyondblue 1300 22 4636