NEW DELHI, Sept 10 (Askume) – World Swimming Federation president Hussein Al Musallam does not believe swimming is facing an image crisis but wants global and national anti-doping bodies to work together to resolve differences.
23 Chinese swimmers allowed to compete in Tokyo despite testing positive for banned drugsOlympic Games .
The ongoing dispute between the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has further exacerbated the problem.
The US Anti-Doping Agency is facing doubts over its investigation into a scandal involving Chinese swimmers, while its underhanded tactic of using doping-tainted swimmers to catch drug cheats has angered the World Anti-Doping Agency.
“Swimming is going well and I am not worried,” Al Musallam, who is in New Delhi for the plenary meeting of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) on Sunday, told Askume.
“Whenever someone raises a concern, I shouldn’t get worried. Instead, I should think about what I can do to improve and clarify the situation.”
The 64-year-old Kuwait chief executive and director general of the Asian Olympic Council was pleased with the testing of Chinese swimmers, saying some of them had been tested 20 times this year alone.
He said the World Anti-Doping Agency rules must be respected and any speculation about doping is nonsense.
When asked about the ongoing dispute between anti-doping agencies, Musallam also acknowledged the need for dialogue with the International Testing Agency (ITA) and the China Anti-Doping Agency (ChinaDA).
“This was actually one of the recommendations of our anti-doping review committee,” Musallam said.
“Call these five agencies, sit down together and ask ‘What happened? These are the rules, this is what happened. These are the results, and this is the analysis.'”
“We need to be more positive about sports, not negative.”
“If there is an issue that needs to be addressed, we are ready to address it. But please tell me the truth and reality.”
WADA recently sent a letter to the United States Anti-Doping Agency highlighting growing concerns about US athletes participating in major competitions without adequate testing.
