WADA Drops Lawsuit Against USADA Over Chinese Swimmers' Doping Case

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has withdrawn its defamation lawsuit against the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) following a dispute over Chinese swimmers who tested positive for a banned substance in 2021.

WADA had cleared 23 Chinese swimmers to compete at the Tokyo Olympics after determining it could not disprove the China Anti-Doping Agency’s (CHINADA) conclusion that their positive tests for the heart medication trimetazidine (TMZ) resulted from contamination.

USADA chief executive Travis Tygart accused WADA of covering up the incident—an allegation WADA dismissed as “completely false and defamatory” before filing a defamation lawsuit in a Swiss court against USADA and Tygart.

While WADA insists the lawsuit would have been successful, it announced its decision to withdraw the case in the “interest of moving on.”

Tygart, in response, called the lawsuit “baseless” and said WADA’s decision to drop it was “complete vindication” for both himself and USADA.

This has been met by mixed reactions. Many people feel like there’s a lot going on behind the scenes. Anyone else feel confused about this drama?

Yeah, this whole thing has been a total mess. IDK why they even filed the lawsuit in the first place.

Tegan said:
Yeah, this whole thing has been a total mess. IDK why they even filed the lawsuit in the first place.

Right? And now Tygart is saying it’s all vindicating for him. What even? :thinking:

Tegan said:
Yeah, this whole thing has been a total mess. IDK why they even filed the lawsuit in the first place.

It’s almost like a reality show! I can’t keep up with all the back-and-forth.

I guess they’re trying to put this behind them, but the way Wada handled it seems sketchy. Like, what’s their endgame?

Kirin said:
I guess they’re trying to put this behind them, but the way Wada handled it seems sketchy. Like, what’s their endgame?

Same here! I’m just hoping it leads to better things for athletes. They deserve fairness.

Kirin said:
I guess they’re trying to put this behind them, but the way Wada handled it seems sketchy. Like, what’s their endgame?

Can someone explain why Tygart thinks Wada’s actions are retaliatory? It’s all kinda confusing.

@Corwin
Pretty much. He feels they’re just trying to cover their tracks after getting caught in a scandal lol.

I heard Wada was trying to get more control? Sounds like a power struggle to me.

Renny said:
I heard Wada was trying to get more control? Sounds like a power struggle to me.

Totally, it’s like they’re fighting over who runs the show. We may never know the whole story.

Honestly, I just hope athletes are protected in all this. That’s what really matters at the end of the day.

Pax said:
Honestly, I just hope athletes are protected in all this. That’s what really matters at the end of the day.

Exactly! They need a strong watchdog to keep things fair, no matter what’s happening behind the scenes.