ARD Doping Editorial Team world exclusive after two-year investigation: Mass doping suspicion in China - WADA fails to act: 23 top Chinese swimmers tested positive in 2021 but were secretly cleared in time to compete at the Tokyo Olympics. With
@hajoseppelt
1/
Good piece on Super Bowl MVP Julian Edelman, a drugs cheat who served just a four-game ban at start of season. NFL didn't reveal substance...but could have been a four-year ban in most other sports. Funny how those so critical of Russian
#doping
are silent
Paula Radcliffe very soft on Alberto Salazar here. Defends athletes who went to work at NOP. Says Salazar was "found guilty of overstepping that line" as he looked to "find out where the limits lie". Also questions how much money was spent on the investigation by USADA.
Some personal news. Excited to be moving to Berlin next month to work with
@hajoseppelt
and the ARD
#doping
editorial team. Can’t wait to start but also really sad that tomorrow is last day at
@insidethegames
and will miss colleagues terribly. Final blog on past five years here
The 23, which included Tokyo 2020 gold medallists – Zhang Yufei and Wang Shun, plus current World Aquatics Swimmer of the Year, Qin Haiyang, all tested positive in January 2021 for trimetazidine, the same substance taken by Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva 2/
BREAKING: Olympic Athletes from Russia mixed doubles
#curling
bronze medallist reportedly fails drugs test for meldonium. B-sample to be opened tomorrow so not confirmed yet. Big news if it is...
This is a terrible response, even by the awful standards of the IOC. They are simply "encouraged by assurances" and "monitor the situation" when everyone else is increasingly fearful
Someone has posted English-subtitled version on YouTube of new ARD film "Dirty Games: The Great Hypocrisy in the Fight against Doping".
An overall picture of state of clean sport worldwide before Paris Olympics
Split over 6 videos, with part 1 here 1/
ARD, with shared reporting with
@nytimes
, has investigated this story for months and will broadcast a comprehensive documentary this weekend: "The China Files". Appears the story has been leaked to other media in advance. Seemingly somebody is trying to change the narrative 5/
When asked about the case,
@USADA
chief executive Travis Tygart spoke of "shocking revelations" and a "sharp knife in the back of clean athletes". He told ARD how, for him, the case "reeks of a cover-up at the highest levels of the World Anti-Doping Agency.” 6/
After months of silence, the athletes were all cleared of doping following an internal Chinese investigation, which supposedly found traces of the substance in the kitchen of the hotel where the athletes had stayed during their competition 3/
This explanation was accepted by WADA, who accepted Chinese decision not to proceed with an anti-doping rule violation and avoid usual steps of provisional suspensions/public disclosure. No evidence the swimmers even DQ'd from competition at which the positive tests occurred 4/
Have just seen a version of our ARD documentary on doping suspicions in Chinese swimming has been been put on YouTube by somebody. And with English subtitles. Link to part 1 of 4 here. Full thread on two-year research with
@hajoseppelt
+
@LeaLoeffler
below
ARD Doping Editorial Team world exclusive after two-year investigation: Mass doping suspicion in China - WADA fails to act: 23 top Chinese swimmers tested positive in 2021 but were secretly cleared in time to compete at the Tokyo Olympics. With
@hajoseppelt
1/
Have just seen a version of our ARD documentary on doping suspicions in Chinese swimming has been been put on YouTube by somebody. And with English subtitles.
Link to part 1 of the 4 here. With the other parts available in the Doping Top Secret playlist 1/
ARD Doping Editorial Team world exclusive after two-year investigation: Mass doping suspicion in China - WADA fails to act: 23 top Chinese swimmers tested positive in 2021 but were secretly cleared in time to compete at the Tokyo Olympics. With
@hajoseppelt
1/
ARD Doping Editorial Team has investigated, unlike WADA, on the ground in China. Received info from a whistleblower. "Whole story about contamination is a fairy tale to me,” they said. “None of the officials' explanations are credible." 8/
BREAKING: Russia suspected of manipulating Moscow Lab Data handed to
#WADA
this year. Fresh non-compliance ruling expected. ExCo meeting next week
#doping
ARD Doping Editorial Team Breaking News: RUS under suspicion to have manipulated Moscow lab data (provided to
@wada_ama
early 2019).
@wada_ama
Compliance Review Committee will inform WADA Exco at Tokyo meeting next week. „Non Compliance“ procedure already initiated.
@NickJMButler
This is remarkable, even if unsurprising.
IOC have effectively awarded 2034 Olympics to Salt Lake City on condition USA stop criticising WADA for handling of 23 Chinese doping positives - covered up with unbelievable + unproven explanation of contamination through hotel kitchen
The IOC has secured the right to cancel the host contract for the 2034 Winter Games in Salt Lake City if the Americans do not dance to the tune of the IOC and WADA in future.
New ARD Doping Editorial Team film: “Guilty: How athletes can unintentionally become dopers” now available online (with English subs and text). Long-term research with super colleagues
@hajoseppelt
@joergww
@JOpfermann
and
@malterb
. Thread summary below 1/
Ex-WADA Director General David Howman said: “You want the public to have confidence in your regulator. If you lose that confidence, then the reputation of the regulator starts going down the gurgler," he said. “And if that were to occur, that would be tragedy for WADA.” 7/
National Olympic Committees are not there for making money. The IOC and the Olympic Games are not there for making money. Money is not an end in itself, it is just a means to accomplish our values-based mission and this the authorities in Europe and elsewhere must understand.
WADA have just awarded their first Play True Award for commitment to clean sport… to IOC President Thomas Bach. Sums up the state of global sports bodies
British athlete implicated in US doping investigation involving therapist Eric Lira. Prosecution memo says Lira ..."met with a third Olympic athlete who competed on behalf of United Kingdom...multiple times in the Summer of 2021 for the purpose of providing him with PEDs." 1/
The only entity carrying out this investigation on the ground in China was the Ministry of Public Security, a state-arm with secret police powers. Their findings have not been independently verified/challenged by any international organisation, including WADA 11/
From there it supposedly reached athletes via food. They do not explain exactly how this happened or who was the source of bringing a prescription drug, not found in food products, into a hotel kitchen. 10/
The contamination explanation? 2.5 months after the competition, an investigation allegedly conducted at the hotel by Chinese authorities found traces of trimetazidine in the extractor fan, on spice containers and in the drain of hotel kitchen where athletes had stayed. 9/
Can WADA explain how a heart medication got into a cooking pot? In any case, it seems remarkable no information published about this case, even in scientific journals about possibility of trimetazidine contamination in this way. As has happened in the past with clenbuterol 15/
So Dennis Mitchell: somebody who has faced multiple doping allegations/charges/links during his sprinting and coaching career, is training all 3 members of the US women's 100m Olympic team
Un débrayage des salariés de l'Hôtel du Collectionneur (Paris 8e) est actuellement en cours.
Il s'agit de l'Hôtel privatisé par le Comité International Olympique pour 22 millions d'euros.
Les salariés demandent des augmentations de salaires.
Explosive claims from notorious doctor Eufemiano Fuentes, later of Operacion Puerto fame, that he was involved in the systematic doping of Spanish athletes before Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games
ARD story here with full documentary "Dirty Games" to follow 1/
Alex Korio Oliotiptip, latest Kenyan suspended for whereabouts failures, was a sub-59 half runner who helped pace Eliud Kipchoge to his sub-2 hour marathon. Athlete rep listed on
@WorldAthletics
website as Federico Rosa
#doping
"Spain's sabotage of the fight against doping". Background piece about past/present Spanish doping concerns, including hesitancy of WADA director general Olivier Niggli towards publishing info about Operacion Puerto doping cases...
WADA successfully appealed for a longer ban in Valieva case after her contamination explanation involving same substance not believed. Very different handling to Chn positives a few months earlier. Other best known trimetazidine doping case? Chinese swimmer Sun Yang in 2014 16/
“New evidence of cover-up - pressure grows on China and WADA”: Allegations that some of the 23 swimmers who tested positive were not even staying at hotel where alleged food contamination took place. Calls for WADA to widen investigation. ARD story here:
ARD asked scientist Fritz Soergel to investigate. Concluded after experiments: "Extremely unlikely" it happened as described. His view:"Concentrations allegedly found by the laboratory in China could only have been caused by the doping agent being administered weeks earlier." 14/
New information added to this thread about positive cases involving Chinese swimmers.
A full ARD documentary will be broadcast over the weekend, made together with great colleagues
@hajoseppelt
@JMebus
and Lea Loeffler
ARD Doping Editorial Team world exclusive after two-year investigation: Mass doping suspicion in China - WADA fails to act: 23 top Chinese swimmers tested positive in 2021 but were secretly cleared in time to compete at the Tokyo Olympics. With
@hajoseppelt
1/
More information about swimming case here, incl. full list of 23 athletes. 13 of them competed at Tokyo Olympics and 4 won medals. Chinese Olympic Trials at which they all qualified for Tokyo happened in April/May 2021 as secret state probe continued 17/
ARD Doping Editorial Team: Lord of the Lifters. A story have been working on for a long time with
@Grit_Hartmann
,
@hajoseppelt
,
@JMebus
and many other excellent colleagues.
Text story
Film on
@DasErste
tonight at 18:45.
A thread...
1/
One athlete caught mid-blood transfusion, and nine arrests made, after a police investigation focused on a German doctor already linked to blood
#doping
in cycling. More details on the latest big scandal to engulf cross country skiing
A list of open questions following ARD "China Files" film into 23 swimming positives
It follows WADA asking a supposedly independent prosecutor to look into some elements of case.
Full article in German with
@hajoseppelt
. 34 outstanding questions here 1/
Two scientists have disputed relevance of these points to ARD. Argued low concentrations and fluctuating +ve/-ve samples does not rule out possibility of deliberate doping beforehand. ARD also has info athletes experienced a drop in testing in 3 weeks before comp 13/
What a surprise. IOC rebuke a member who gives a contrary opinion. A parliament without public differences of opinion is an echo chamber not a democracy, but that has clearly long been what Thomas Bach wants
French relay team disqualified from 2017 World Champs after Teddy Atine-Venel salbutamol positive. Reportedly had a concentration of 1400 ng/mL. which is well over permitted level at the time, but still lower than Chris Froome recorded
There should be a rule across Olympic sport where all athletes list their coach and then if a coach is responsible for one or, perhaps, two doping athletes, they get a four year ban in the same way. Same with doctors and officials
Rumour is that Lizzy Yarnold was hoping to replace Adam Pengilly as British rep on
#IOC
Athletes Commission but that the IOC, fearing this, applied pressure for Britain to wait until 2020 and propose a summer sporting rep. She would have been their idea of a nightmare
#doping
In 2008 it was "silent diplomacy", now it is "quiet diplomacy". IOC comms department obviously think this line is very clever but their priority is only too clear. Every word in this statement was painstakingly crafted to avoid upsetting Chinese Olympic hosts in any way at all...
Some doping substances "can only be detected for a very limited period of time...if you do not test yourself before the start or during the game, their traces in the body can be erased." Cycling boss Marc Madiot calls for Novak Djokovic to be suspended.
USADA head Travis Tygart has also confirmed to ARD that they passed on to WADA multiple "specific and credible" whistleblower tips since 2020 about alleged doping cover-ups of top Chinese swimmers, but had been told by WADA there was "no impetus to investigate" 19/
WADA told ARD they concluded at the time there was “no concrete basis to challenge asserted contamination”, citing points including low concentrations and how some athletes had fluctuated between negative and positive samples. 12/
A man who blamed a failed drugs test on a penis enlargement product now being coached by someone who blamed one on "five bottles of beer and sex with his wife at least four times....it was her birthday, the lady deserved a treat”.
Merritt is now being coached by Dennis Mitchell, who:
-was banned for doping as an athlete
-was alleged to have offered to provide PEDs to undercover reporters in 2017 (but not sanctioned for this)
Yet he still coaches several top athletes, including Merritt & Justin Gatlin.
To be clear, we don't know exactly what happened. Only that significant unanswered questions remain about kitchen contamination theory and, rather than fully investigate, WADA are accused of allowing normal anti-doping procedures to be sidestepped, enabling case to disappear 18/
Lawyer Thomas Summerer said: "It was obvious there was an anti-doping violation, and that is how it should have been treated by CHINADA. A provisional ban should have been immediately imposed and all competition results revoked." He is surprised “WADA has remained inactive." 21/
Not an expert on this case, but where in the rules does it say that "low amounts" of steroids like dianabol is enough to drop a case? Surely low amounts are always likely if someone is trying to avoid detection?
#doping
It is amazing, although perhaps not surprising, how Simona Halep has been able to dictate narrative around her (two!) doping cases.
The further delay she complains about is because new, very serious, biological passport allegations have arisen.
"Acting this way is contrary to my rights."
Simona Halep has accused tennis' doping authority of "publicly stating one thing while privately doing another" by requesting a further delay to her hearing.
#BBCTennis
There have now been a total of 116 positive drugs tests at
#London2012
, easily making it the "dirtiest"
#Olympics
in history, beating the record of 86 set at
#Beijing2008
. And there is still more than three years for
#IOC
to conduct further re-tests...Could potentially top 150
This really sums up sports administration. The guy in charge of promoting good governance is involved in awarding a conference to Russia the week before he sits on another Board banning Russia from hosting events...
1 WADA Exco member today also sat on the panel which last week awarded a big Olympic stakeholders conference to Ekaterinburg, Russia, in 2021. Francesco Ricci Bitti got quite agitated when declining to explain why that hosting decision was made before the WADA ban ruling.
ARD conclusion, and that of experts, that WADA failed to act in this case is explained fully in below thread. It concerns lack of independent investigation on the ground in China and after whistleblower contact. And lack of opposition to normal anti-doping processes not happening
ARD Doping Editorial Team world exclusive after two-year investigation: Mass doping suspicion in China - WADA fails to act: 23 top Chinese swimmers tested positive in 2021 but were secretly cleared in time to compete at the Tokyo Olympics. With
@hajoseppelt
1/
Honoured to come 2nd tonight at
@AipsAwards
in Lausanne in Best Weblog category. Thanks to everyone at
@insidethegames
who always gave so much guidance/encouragement with writing them
Good luck to Nick Butler who is shortlisted for the Best Weblog in the AIPS Awards due to be presented in Lausanne tonight. He is among a shortlist of three for this piece he wrote for
@insidethegames
#olympics
IOC not answering questions on China swimming story, as all "anti-doping matters have been made independent" from them.
On Jan 8,2021, they published this article, still there today, about competition in Shijiazhuang. No DQs afterwards despite 23 positives
Good thread here on taekwondo superstar Jade Jones being cleared after refusing a drugs test. Latest example of alarming handling of a case involving UKAD/a top British athlete. Makes it hard for Britain to criticise way doping is dealt with in other countries.
British Double Olympic taekwondo🥇 Jade Jones refused a drug test in December.
It was accepted that Jones was mentally impaired from dehydration. She will not be banned by UK Anti-Doping.
"she became irrational, suffering a complete loss of her cognitive senses".
List of pacemakers for
@INEOS159
now only 38 on official website.
Marius Kipserem, Philemon Kacheran and Justus Kimutai - all now serving doping bans - have vanished. History made...and seemingly rewritten.
Here is Kipserem talking about the project
Interestingly, the name of Philemon Kacheran now seems to have been quietly removed from list of sub 2 hour pacemakers on
@INEOS159
website. It was there, as this screenshot shows, before his doping conviction earlier this year. I wonder why this happened?
BREAKING: Influential IOC member Sam Ramsamy tells us that he would oppose lifting of suspension as Russia have "compromised" themselves by two
#doping
cases in Pyeongchang... His views always correspond with
#IOC
leadership
WADA turned down invite to appear in German Bundestag session on Chinese swimming doping case today.
Also refusing to answer media questions, hiding behind supposedly “independent” prosecutor probe.
V.poor look for a body which receives €1.27m a year in German public money
Bardzo dziękuję Panu Prezydentowi Andrzejowi Dudzie za odznaczenie Krzyżem Oficerskim Orderu Odrodzenia Polski. To wielki honor i zaszczyt!
@AndrzejDuda
@wada_ama
Over 1,000 athletes competing in Paris have not been drug tested this year. Prediction from former WADA boss that only "dopey dopers" will be caught during the Games
ARD Doping Editorial Team: Drug testing at the Olympic Games : Gaps, rumours, frustration: Paris 2024 and the unwillingness of relevant organisations to seriously combat doping|
I really hope they will publish in detail exactly how they concluded a contaminated supplement was to blame...and the name of said supplement/company in the hope this doesn't happen again.
Updates here to thread explaining mass doping suspicion in Chinese swimming. Full ARD Doping Editorial Team documentary with
@hajoseppelt
and
@LeaLoeffler
to follow with more revelations
ARD Doping Editorial Team world exclusive after two-year investigation: Mass doping suspicion in China - WADA fails to act: 23 top Chinese swimmers tested positive in 2021 but were secretly cleared in time to compete at the Tokyo Olympics. With
@hajoseppelt
1/
WADA has undertaken substantial reforms to supposedly improve investigative abilities since ARD, rather than them, first exposed Russia's state doping scandal in 2014. Scientific/legal and anti-doping experts are now asking why, in this case, they did not investigate harder 20/
What the IOC don't say is that this was part of a highly politicised deal to restore Norway-China trading and diplomatic relations after the awarding of a Nobel Peace Prize to a Chinese dissident. But, of course, sport and politics don't mix. Article here
Also told by several people in room that there are concerns Russians hacked
#WADA
meeting today. Not sure what evidence except WiFi in entire hotel went down and story came out first in Russia...even though no representatives in room from there. Oh, and so many other hacks
The old prosthetic penis trick... I wonder if anybody would have been prepared to pursue a case against a member of the US basketball team even if he had been caught...
#doping
Lamar Odom admits to using a prosthetic penis to pass a drug test for the 2004 Olympics.
"We started googling 'fake penises' and studied different ways to beat a drug test."
➡️
BREAKING:
@EU_Commission
order International Skating Union to change competition rules in landmark legal ruling... Biggest sports law precedent since Bosman ruling on transfers
BREAKING:
#IOC
reasoning on
#Legkov
confirms they trust all evidence of Rodchenkov and findings of McLaren and say all athletes involved in tampering complicit. Huge! Report soon...
#doping
War between WADA/USADA after Chinese swimming revelations. But were the cited US environmental contamination cases kept completely secret? And did they involve substances not linked to contamination, like TMZ? If not, argument seems irrelevant distraction
So two members of Athlete Refugee Team have recently tested positive for trimetazidine. Both provisionally suspended - with no discussion about contamination/concentrations etc so far
Good to hear: An English subtitled version of our weightlifting
#doping
film „The Lord of the Lifters“ has now been published on YouTube. Not perfect technical quality, and may have to turn subtitles on, but you can watch here
@hajoseppelt
@Grit_Hartmann
More whataboutary from WADA to try and deflect from how they handled - or chose not the handle - multiple Chinese cases.
Also appears a strange fight to pick given USADA's action in this case makes a lot of sense
Why have IOC, and in particular
@wada_ama
, not made stronger statements following this announcement? Almost like they don’t want to criticise Russia in any way...
If not seen, our documentary, "China Files", made following a two-year investigation by ARD's Doping Editorial Team, is on YouTube with English subtitles here
English subtitled version on YouTube of ARD "Human Experiments" film about the secret trials of harmful drugs on amateur athletes in the GDR. Excellent, but also an emotional and horrifying story by colleagues
@hajoseppelt
@JMebus
and
@JOpfermann
Cyclist
@MRasmussen1974
talks openly about getting away with doping even within Olympic Village in Athens.
Post career, he sent all blood values from a 2-year doping period to an expert who said they would still not have triggered an ABP doping case 5/
"Eleven swimmers in doping scandal named in China Olympic team." Reminder, we still don't fully know how TMZ supposedly got into their bodies via alleged kitchen contamination
RIP. Lords of the Rings should be required reading for anyone involved in Olympic sport. And the FBI FIFA investigation would also not have happened without him
This Saturday, the world lost a journalistic pioneer. His work was crucial for uncovering the culture of corruption in world sport: Andrew Jennings set new and higher standards for journalistic coverage of sports politics. Read
@JensSejerA
's obituary👉
A long running common research from ARD +
@correctiv_org
: June 9 10.45 pm GER time
@DasErste
(in ENG
@sportschau
) our latest tv documentary - about German football: „Pass That Pill!” Painkillers in Football – Doping in Disguise?“. Huge coverage: text, video, audio.
#kickonpills
Will miss working with IOC spokesman
@ChKlaue
when he leaves after these Games. We had a lengthy "debate" about Russia decision today before posing together for leaving pic. Olympic spirit right there...
#Pyeongchang2018
You just knew as soon as seeing an IOC statement with this headline that it would really be a concession to Russia...conveniently no mention of other instances when whole countries have been banned during Apartheid/after WW2 etc
Max Hauke, the Austrian skier caught mid-blood transfusion, played down
#doping
concerns in the sport in January and insisted it was possible to win clean. I wonder how many athletes who speak out strongly about doping are hiding similar secrets?
Important details here about British taekwondo star Jade Jones being cleared of refusing drug test. Comment by chef de mission on the timeframe seems quite misleading…and makes quite a difference given how quickly some substances become undetectable
This is highly misleading and says a lot about the website regurgitating it.
The report on the case makes clear that Halep/her hired experts could not prove where the Roxadustat came from, and had no answer to biological passport violation indicating longer-term blood doping
Simona Halep tested negative for Roxadustat on August 26, 2022, 3 days before she tested positive on August 29.
“Given that Halep had tested negative on August 26th & then positive 3 days later, experts concluded that the very small concentration levels of Roxadustat found in
#IOC
have spent last four years banging on about sports autonomy and CAS being the highest sports court... until they got a verdict they didn't agree with, that is
This whole case is as embarrassing for the fight against
#doping
as the Russia case ever was. WADA pointing out how unhelpful Spanish authorities have been
Disappointed in UKAD, the amount of samples that athletes give and they won't retest and use stupid excuses as to why, embarrassing. Why would people want to keep their data secret? And you wonder why athletics is dying a drug fuelled death
#nothingtohide
Just 19.1% of accredited media at Pyeongchang
#Olympics
were female and 25% for broadcasters. There was only one female accredited media from UK, discounting BBC, so maybe we should pause before criticising gender imbalance in sport admin... cc.
@OlympicAE