WADA, USADA clash over American agency's use of 'undercover agents' to catch drug cheats (2024)

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has accused U.S. regulators of violating a global code by allowing athletes who violated anti-doping rules to continue competing in an effort to catch cheating by others.

WADA said the United States Anti-Doping (USADA) broke the World Anti-Doping Code — which all national anti-doping bodies sign on to — by using these athletes as “undercover agents” without notifying WADA “and without there being any provision allowing such a practice under the Code or USADA’s own rules.” WADA said it was aware of three cases — which occurred between 2011 and 2014, according to Reuters — in which athletes who “committed serious anti-doping rule violations” competed for years without their violations being published or sanctioned.

But USADA CEO Travis Tygart said in a statement that WADA was aware of the athletes’ cooperation and return to competition, and said one of the athletes’ returns was necessary for an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Agency and FBI into a human and drug trafficking scheme.

“When USADA and other anti-doping organizations obtain information about misconduct and potential violations, it’s critical that we pursue the truth with all the resources at our disposal, and there are protections for both whistleblowers and those who provide substantial assistance,” Tygart said.

WADA acknowledged there is a provision in its code that allows athletes caught cheating who provide “substantial assistance” to appeal for a reduction in any ban they receive. But, it says, allowing athletes to compete after being found guilty of anti-doping violations to attempt to gather evidence against others is not permitted.

Tygart, though, told Reuters that using “undercover agents” is “an effective way to get at these bigger, systemic problems.”

“If you’ve got agents or others who are preying on athletes and trafficking … I think it’s totally appropriate,” he added.

The USADA plan “threatened the integrity of sporting competition,” WADA said in a statement. “By operating it, USADA was in clear breach of the rules. Contrary to the claims made by USADA, WADA did not sign off on this practice of permitting drug cheats to compete for years on the promise that they would try to obtain incriminating evidence against others.”

In his statement, Tygart dismissed the Reuters report as a WADA “smear” attempt in response to USADA’s criticism of that situation.

WADA’s condemnation of USADA’s undercover policy comes amid controversy around the global agency for its handling of a doping case involving 23 Chinese swimmers that emerged in April, after a New York Times and ARD report.

The 23 swimmers tested positive for a banned substance seven months before the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 but avoided punishment. Some of the athletes who tested positive went on to medal in Tokyo. The swimmers were allowed to compete in the Olympics after WADA accepted China’s findings that suggested their swimmers unknowingly ingested the substance from food eaten at a hotel.

“A mountain of evidence shows that the system has failed, WADA has accepted China can play by its own set of rules, and the public is losing faith in the Olympic values,” Tygart said last week, having previously been vocal in his criticism of the case.

WADA later responded in a statement, saying: “The (politicization) of Chinese swimming continues with this latest attempt by the media in the U.S. to imply wrongdoing on the part of WADA and the broader anti-doping community.”

WADA says it immediately told USADA to end the undercover agents’ policy when it found out about it in 2021. It added that it had “no choice” but to keep the identity of the athletes undisclosed after USADA petitioned it to do so on security grounds.

Tygart told Reuters that USADA will refrain from using the tactic again unless WADA changes its stance. He maintained that USADA believed it was acting in accordance with WADA’s global code.

Last month, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) awarded the 2034 Winter Olympics to Salt Lake City, but not withoutIOC officials openly criticizing the U.S. investigationinto the alleged cover-up of doping by Chinese swimmers who competed at the Tokyo Olympics. The host city contract also includes a clause that gives the IOC the right to terminate the deal “in cases where the supreme authority of the World Anti-Doping Agency in the fight against doping is not fully respected or if the application of the world antidoping code is hindered or undermined.”The IOC holds sway over WADA and wants the global agency to be the final arbiter of anti-doping investigations, with national governments staying out of such cases.

(Top photo: Andrej Ivanov / AFP via Getty Images)

Luke Bosher is a deputy news editor for The Athletic, based in London. He joined the company in 2020. Follow Luke on Twitter @bosherL