The World Anti-Doping Agency on Tuesday cleared itself of wrongdoing over its decision not to discipline elite Chinese swimmers who tested positive for a banned drug in the lead-up to the previous Summer Olympics, even as new details emerged that raised questions about how it had handled the decision.
A special prosecutor appointed by the antidoping agency, known as WADA, to review its decision said he had found that the agency made an “indisputably reasonable” decision not to impose penalties on the swimmers, and concluded that the agency had not shown preferential treatment to China.
But in an annex to his report, the prosecutor noted that two top scientists at the agency said they had difficulty believing China’s claim that the swimmers had been unwittingly contaminated.