我们注意到国内外相关媒体报道了有关美国奥运田径新星埃里扬·奈顿兴奋剂阳性案件的具体情况，同时美国反兴奋剂机构（USADA）也针对该案件公开进行了回应。但我们发现目前该案件仍存在诸多疑点，例如USADA负责人公然宣称，群勃龙在美国和世界其他地区都是一种众所周知的牲畜生长促进剂。为什么近年来全球发生了数以百计的群勃龙阳性，只有极少数美国运动员基于USADA的调查结果和肉食品污染的主张逃脱了禁赛处罚？为什么USADA没有向美国运动员予以任何关于肉食品中群勃龙污染的风险警示？
如果群勃龙在美国是一个常见的污染物质，中国反兴奋剂中心提醒包括美国在内的各国运动员，在美国训练比赛时密切关注该国的肉类食品污染问题，在美期间加强兴奋剂风险防范，慎重食用肉类制品。否则也许会像得到USADA庇护的美国游泳运动员菲尔普斯在近期采访中所建议的：如果兴奋剂检测结果呈阳性，就永远不能再参加比赛，一切都结束了。
1988年汉城奥运会，在男子100米比赛中，加拿大名将本·约翰逊以9秒79打破百米世界纪录，可仅仅3天过后，约翰逊的药检结果呈阳性，证实其使用了违禁药物参加100米比赛。
此外，奈顿被USADA单方面“宽恕”也体现出另一种担忧：即美国田径项目频频出现使用兴奋剂的丑闻，且USADA在处理兴奋剂案件的方式上存在前后矛盾和解释可疑的问题。据公开报道，美国九枚奥运金牌得主卡尔·刘易斯曾承认，尽管在1988年汉城奥运会前三次检测均呈阳性，但最终还是被“网开一面”，顺利代表了美国前往汉城。雅典奥运会百米冠军贾斯汀·加特林两度被查出阳性，按规定应当受到终身禁赛的处罚，但USADA却为其“极力开脱”，最终把禁赛期缩短为４年。2003年，美国旧金山巴尔科实验室曝出重创世界体坛的禁药丑闻，实验室负责人孔特供出的客户名单中包括百米女飞人马里昂·琼斯、前男子百米世界纪录保持者蒂姆·蒙哥马利、加特林等多名美国田径世界冠军，引发了国际社会对于美国体育界滥用兴奋剂的担忧。吉尔·罗伯茨曾获里约奥运会4x400米接力金牌，2017年他以和女友接吻所致兴奋剂阳性为由，得到了USADA的“赦免”。然而，罗伯茨在2022年再次被查出服用违禁药物，被处以禁赛16个月的处罚。2023年复出仅仅8个月，罗伯茨又因兴奋剂阳性被处以8年禁赛。另外值得关注的是，今年4月，美国田径选手阿尔德里奇·拜利赛外检查呈雄激素受体调节剂奥司他林阳性，USADA认定是由于运动员使用的氯丁橡胶大腿压缩袖受到了污染。相关事实表明，奥司他林并不是一种常见的污染物质。
鉴于美国田径领域根深蒂固的种种“污点”，以及USADA屡次置程序和标准于不顾，我们有理由怀疑美国田径领域存在系统性使用兴奋剂的问题，美国田径领域的兴奋剂阳性事件值得持续彻查和关注。正如WADA主席班卡所强调的：“世界各地执法机构都已告诉WADA，美国是一个销售和分销提高成绩药物的巨大市场。”又正如世界反兴奋剂机构在近期发表的声明中提到，在东京奥运会赛前的一年中，31%的美国运动员没有得到充分的兴奋剂检测。基于以上情况，我们强烈呼吁国际检测机构（ITA）在巴黎奥运会期间加大对于美国田径运动员的兴奋剂检查频率，同时强烈建议田径诚信委员会（AIU）加强对于美国田径运动项目的反兴奋剂监管，严防严查其运动员兴奋剂问题隐患，切实维护各国干净运动员的合法权益，重树全球运动员对公平竞赛的信心。
Intensify Testing on U.S. Athletics, and Rebuild Global Trust In Fair Play
China Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA) noticed that the specifics of the U.S. Olympic sprinting star Erriyon Knighton’s positive test have been widely reported by media at home and abroad, following which the United Stated Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) made a public statement on the case. However, there are still a number of question marks surrounding the case. One example is that the USADA CEO said blatantly that “trenbolone is a well-known livestock enhancer in the U.S. and other parts of the world”. Now that hundreds of positive tests for trenbolone have taken place in recent years worldwide, why is it that only a very small number of U.S. athletes have escaped sanctions based on USADA’s investigation findings and claims of meat contamination? Why hasn’t USADA ever warned American athletes about the risk of contamination of trenbolone in meat?
If trenbolone is indeed a common contaminant in the United States, CHINADA would like to remind athletes from all over the world, including American athletes, to pay close attention to the meat contamination problem in the country when training and competing there, to strengthen doping risk prevention measures, and to eat meat products with caution. Otherwise, as the American swimmer Michael Phelps—under the wing of USADA—suggested in a recent interview, “if you test positive, you should never be allowed to come back and compete again, cut and dry”.
In addition, the fact that Knighton was unilaterally exonerated by USADA also reflects another concern: doping scandals have been too frequently seen on U.S. athletics, and USADA’s handling of these doping case has been inconsistent and questionable. According to public available information, Carl Lewis, the nine-time U.S. Olympic gold medalist, once acknowledged that despite testing positive three times before the 1988 Seoul Olympics, he was eventually “let off the hook” and represented the United States in Seoul. The Olympic 100m champion Justin Gatlin, who failed two doping tests and should have been banned for life according to relevant rules, was finally given a four-year period of ineligibility after USADA’s exculpatory efforts. In 2003, the a shocking doping scandal that hit the sports world exploded from The Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO) in San Francisco, whose founder Conte provided a list of professional athletes buying their performance-enhancing drugs, including Marion Jones, the women’s 100-meter sprinting giant, Tim Montgomery, former world record holder for men’s 100-meter, Gatlin as mentioned above, and many other world champions in athletics. The BALCO scandal has triggered widespread concerns from the international community about doping in the U.S. sports field. Gil Roberts, once part of the U.S. 4x400 relay team that won gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics, was cleared by USADA in 2017 by claiming that his positive test was caused by kissing of his girlfriend. However, Roberts was found to have taken a banned substance again in 2022 and was given a 16-month ineligibility. Just eight months after his return in 2023, Roberts was again given an eight-year eligibility for a failing test. It is also worth noting that this April, the American track and field athlete Aldrich Bailey tested positive for ostarine, an androgen receptor modulator, during an out-of-competition test. It was then decided by USADA that the positive test was due to contaminated neoprene hamstring sleeves used by the athletes. However, ostarine is not a common contaminant, as facts show.
Given the deep-rooted stains in the U.S. athletics and USADA’s repeated disregard for procedures and standards, there is reason to suspect that there is a systemic doping problem in track and field in the United States and the positive cases therein deserve continuous investigation and attention. As pointed out by the President of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), Mr. Witold Bańka, data collected in project involving law enforcement agencies and National Anti-Doping Organizations (NADOs) in Europe revealed that the U.S. is one of the world’s largest markets for illicit steroids and performance-enhancing drugs. Also pointed out by WADA in a recent statement, 31% of American athletes were not sufficiently tested in the 12 month-period prior to the Tokyo Games. In light of the above, we strongly call on the International Testing Agency (ITA) to intensify testing on the U.S. track and field athletes. We also strongly recommend that the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) strengthen anti-doping supervision of the U.S. track and field, prevent the doping risks and strictly investigate relevant cases, in an endeavor to truly protect the legitimate rights and interests of the cleans athletes around the world, and to rebuild the trust of global athletes in fair play.