sport news Aussie Olympic champion Grant Hackett says the global anti-doping body has a ... trends now
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
