August 08, (THEWILL) – China’s anti-doping agency, CHINADA, has urged the International Testing Agency (ITA) to increase testing of US track and field athletes, following a positive doping test by American sprinter, Erriyon Knighton.
The call for enhanced scrutiny comes after CHINADA accused the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) of double standards, claiming it has been “trying its best” to clear American athletes while criticising CHINADA and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) for alleged cover-ups.
Knighton, the American sprinter, tested positive for the banned substance trenbolone this year but was not suspended for the Paris Games after an arbitrator found the result was likely caused by contaminated meat. This development has prompted CHINADA to raise concerns about the prevalence of trenbolone contamination in the United States, stating that athletes everywhere, including US athletes, should be mindful of the issue.
In addition to the Knighton case, CHINADA has cited a recent WADA statement indicating that 31% of US athletes were inadequately tested in the 12 months prior to the Tokyo Games. This statistic has further fueled CHINADA’s call for the ITA to intensify testing on US track and field athletes.
CHINADA has also urged the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) to strengthen its anti-doping supervision of the US track and field programme in an effort to “truly protect the legitimate rights and interests of the clean athletes around the world” and to rebuild global athletes’ trust in fair play.
The Chinese anti-doping agency’s stance follows an ongoing dispute between CHINADA and USADA, with both sides accusing each other of double standards and cover-ups.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
