Shayna Jack lawyer Tim Fuller slams China doping situation
Tim Fuller, who represented Shayna Jack in her doping appeal process, has erupted over the ruling for the Chinese swim team.
Swimming
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Shayna Jack’s lawyer is outraged by the decision to allow 23 Chinese swimmers to compete at the Tokyo Olympics despite positive tests for doping.
It emerged on Saturday that 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for a banned drug before the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, which was confirmed by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
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The global doping watchdog left many commentators stunned after the organisation defended its decision to let those swimmers compete based on China’s findings they had ingested the drug unknowingly.
The New York Times reported the athletes tested positive for a prescription heart drug called trimetazidine (TMZ), which can enhance performance, at a domestic meet in late 2020 and the first days of 2021.
Australian swimmer Jack tested positive to banned substance Ligandrol in 2019, which led to her battling a protracted appeals process with the support of Brisbane-based lawyer Tim Fuller.
The Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport ultimately ruled Jack had ingested the drug unintentionally and a four-year ban was reduced to two, meaning she still missed the Tokyo Olympics.
Fuller appeared on the Nine Network’s Today Show on Monday morning and expressed his shock and dismay over the ruling for the Chinese swimmers, which was unknown publicly for three years until Saturday’s report from New Corp journalist Julian Linden.
“Oh, it’s shocking double standards, you know, you had Shayna fighting to clear her name,” Fuller said.
“She was cleared by a court, WADA appealed that decision, so she had to go through an appeal.
“And meanwhile, you know, behind the scenes, we’ve had 23 athletes from China who have ultimately been found to have done nothing wrong.
“So there was a no fault finding and we didn’t even hear about it. I mean, that’s the most perplexing thing,
“That there was no announcement, nothing. And we found out about it three years later.”
China is reportedly facing the prospect of being stripped of an Olympic gold medal as a result of the swirling drama.
The 30-member Chinese swim team won six medals in Tokyo, including three golds, and many are expected to be in contention again at the Paris Olympics in July.
It was determined they had all been innocent victims of a mass contamination of the same prohibited drug Sun Yang was once banned for.
Fuller was asked how WADA had failed to make the failed doping tests public all this time.
“That’s the biggest mystery,” he said. “I mean, in their rules, there’s a requirement to make an announcement.
“All athletes, every single athlete in this, in the world, if they test positive for a banned substance, they’ll be stood down provisionally.
“So it’s a temporary suspension and then they have to go through the process and we find out about that.
“We find out about athletes that have been stood down. But on this occasion, with 23 athletes from one of the biggest swimming nations in the world, we hear nothing.”
When it was put to Fuller that the justification for the ruling was the fact the athletes had all consumed contaminated food, he replied: “Well, look, I find that highly implausible, you know, all 23.
“I mean, what were the concentration levels in their system? There’s a lot of unknowns. There’s more questions than answers.
“I don’t think anybody’s seen laboratory documentation information, expert reports. So there’s just so many unknowns around this.
“But I think probably the biggest concern is the fact that while the China Anti-Doping Authority made this decision, you know, WADA has just waved this through and they’ve all competed obviously in Tokyo and after.”
Fuller added it was “highly unusual” for WADA to allow the ruling from the Chinese body.
He also felt there was no need for anything other than full transparency from the governing body and added he believed the matter was far from closed.
“Well, I think it’s a mystery as to why this wasn’t announced,” he said.
“I mean, if they were so confident in the processes that were taking place by the Chinese Anti-Doping Authority, they should have made that announcement prior to Tokyo that these 23 athletes were cleared and able to compete.
“But look, I don’t think it’s the end of this matter.
“The Americans have been very strong in their opposition to this decision and they have powerful laws to investigate perceived crimes in relation to sport that involves any American athletes and, of course, the Tokyo Olympics involved American athletes.
“So they can bring in the FBI. They have strong legislation. I think we’ll hear more about this over time.
“And for all the athletes who play by the rules and keep sport clean, they want answers too.”
Originally published as Shayna Jack lawyer Tim Fuller slams China doping situation
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