Caeleb Dressel Questions Anti-Doping Fairness

Caeleb Dressel, the seven-time Olympic swimming champion, has expressed skepticism about the anti-doping measures for the Paris Olympics. He questioned whether authorities ensured a fair competition, given the controversy surrounding positive drug tests from 23 Chinese swimmers before the Tokyo Games. An independent report earlier this month backed the Chinese authorities’ claim that the swimmers ingested trimetazidine (TMZ) through contamination.

Despite this, eleven of those swimmers will compete in Paris. Caeleb Dressel, 27, a leading name in US swimming with two gold medals in 2016 and five in Tokyo, voiced his concerns just a day before the Games’ opening. He criticized the handling of the case, saying, “No, not really. I don’t think they have given us enough evidence to support them in how this case was handled.”

His remarks followed the revelation by the New York Times in April of positive tests that had initially remained hidden in 2021. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) chose not to appeal the China Anti-Doping Agency’s (Chinada) conclusion after consulting experts, drawing criticism from athletes and the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). USADA’s chief executive, Travis Tygart suggested a cover-up which WADA rejected.

Meanwhile, the US initiated a criminal investigation and a separate review into World Aquatics’ handling of the case found no mismanagement or cover-up. World Aquatics reported that athletes in Paris underwent 4,774 tests with no positive results.

World Aquatics President Husain Al-Musallam and Chief Executive Brent Nowicki defended their testing processes, expressing disappointment in Dressel’s comments and emphasizing their commitment to fairness. US Olympic chief Gene Sykes called for WADA and USADA to reconcile and urged them to work together more effectively as the Games approach.