In the two years before WADA cleared 23 Chinese swimmers of intentional doping, China contributed nearly $2 million above its yearly requirements to WADA programs. These contributions included $993,000 in 2018 and $992,000 in 2019, as per confidential minutes from WADA executive committee meetings obtained by the Associated Press.
China’s extra funding was part of a fundraising effort to strengthen WADA’s fledgling intelligence and investigations program, which played a role in the current case. WADA didn’t hide the extra funding; it announced China’s $992,000 donation in a little-noticed news release in December 2020.
During a press conference on the case, WADA director general Olivier Niggli emphasized that China’s additional contributions were made with full transparency and had no bearing on the decision to clear the swimmers. WADA’s budget primarily comes from a 50-50 split between governments and the Olympic movement. China’s additional contributions came on top of its regular payments of $430,000 in 2019.
While China increased its contributions, the U.S.’s relationship with WADA was fraying. In 2021, the U.S. withheld part of its payment and criticized WADA’s governance. Meanwhile, China chipped in for WADA’s intelligence and investigations program, with its donation accounting for nearly three-quarters of the funds received for the program by the end of 2020.
The contributions also coincided with the lead-up to the November 2019 election of IOC member Yang Yang of China to WADA vice president. Yang was elected to her second three-year term in 2022. Additionally, Chinese sports products company ANTA Sports signed a three-year deal to provide WADA-branded sports apparel.
Last week, The New York Times and German broadcaster ARD reported that WADA had cleared the Chinese swimmers based on China’s anti-doping agency’s claim that the athletes had been exposed to a banned heart medication through contamination. There was no public notice of the case or provisional suspension, as required by the world anti-doping code.
WADA defended its process, stating that there was no evidence to support intentional cheating by the swimmers. Of the 23 Chinese swimmers who tested positive, 13 competed in the Tokyo Olympics, and four of those 13 won medals. Many athletes still compete for China and are expected to swim at this year’s Paris Olympics.
