Questions Emerge About Data Used by China to Defend Against Doping Allegations

Faced with scrutiny, the World Anti-Doping Agency has cited China’s science as it has tried to deflect criticism that it looked the other way when confronting a pattern of positive tests among Chinese athletes.Since the revelation that 23 elite Chinese swimmers tested positive before the 2021 Olympics for a banned performance-enhancing drug, Chinese and antidoping officials have repeatedly defended their decision not to discipline the athletes by invoking scientific analysis.

The officials said the science — which relied heavily on hastily arranged human trials of the drug in question — backed up their conclusion that the swimmers were unwittingly contaminated, most likely through food…