The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has voiced disappointment that the case of 23 Chinese swimmers who tested positive for a forbidden substance is now being investigated by the United States Department of Justice.
A WADA statement late Thursday said the organization was "disappointed to learn that the US Department of Justice is now investigating the 2021 contamination case of 23 swimmers in China.
"At this time, WADA has not received any contact or request from US law enforcement."
More than a month ago, a committee of the US House of Representatives called on the Department of Justice and the FBI to investigate the matter as it raised ethical and competition concerns, among others.
The investigation is based on the Rodchenkov Act, named after Russian whistleblower Grigory Rodchenkov, who uncovered the state-sponsored doping system in Russia around the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and fled to the US.
It allows American law enforcement to take action against those behind doping offences at international competitions.
WADA was critical, saying: "The public reports about this investigation validate the concerns expressed broadly by the international community about the passage of the Rodchenkov Act, under which the United States purports to exercise extraterritorial criminal jurisdiction over participants in the global anti-doping system."
In the Chinese case, German broadcasters ARD, the New York Times and Australia's Daily Telegraph revealed that the 23 swimmers had tested positive for the heart medication trimetazidine in early 2021.
China's anti-doping body CHINADA had imposed no sanctions, saying the positive tests were the result of contamination in the kitchen of the hotel they were staying at.
WADA and the governing swimming body said they ended their investigation because it was not possible to contest the Chinese version, and several athletes competed at the Tokyo Olympics later in 2021.
WADA came under fire for its stance but reiterated Thursday that it "reviewed the Chinese swimmer case file diligently, consulted with scientific and legal experts, and ultimately determined that it was in no position to challenge the contamination scenario, such that an appeal was not warranted.
"Guided by science and expert consultations, we stand by that good-faith determination in the face of the incomplete and misleading news reports on which this investigation appears to be based."
