The suspension of Beijing’s National Anti-Doping Laboratory is caused by a “technical oversight” and had nothing to do with Chinese swimmers’ positive drug test, said China’s anti-doping authority.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) revealed the suspension of the National Anti-Doping Laboratory on their official website on Thursday after finding out that the lab failed to adhere to the International Standard for Laboratories' (ISL) requirements.
The suspension comes nearly one month after two Chinese swimmers tested positive of performance-enhancing drugs after they were cleared by the Beijing lab as dope-free, as reported by the South China Morning Post.
National Anti-Doping Laboratory Suspension
Citing Article 13.7 of the World Anti-Doping Code, WADA suspended the accreditation of the Beijing lab for a maximum of four months until the establishment is able to accomplish the requirements specified by the Disciplinary Committee.
The suspension, which prohibits the lab from conducting any WADA-related anti-doping activities such as urine and blood testing, took place immediately after it was made public.
During the duration of the suspension, analyses of blood and urine samples should be transported to another accredited laboratory.
According to WADA's official website, the Beijing lab "may appeal the suspension to the Court of Arbitration for Sport within 21 days of receipt of notice."
Suspension Linked to Doping Swimmers
The announcement did not specify the reason behind the suspension, stating only that "whenever a laboratory does not meet ISL requirements, WADA may suspend the laboratory's accreditation."
Because of this, some wondered if China's National Anti-Doping Laboratory was involved in some sort of cover-up linked to last month's discovery that some swimmers had been using performance-enhancing drugs while participating in tournaments.
Beijing immediately denied any connection between the two incidents.
According to Xu Youxuan, the Beijing laboratory's head, the suspension was a result of "technical mistakes."
"The problem took place because we failed to follow WADA's latest technique requirements and there were oversights in reviewing the analysis," Xu explained, adding that the lab reported two false negative results in a technical test conducted by WADA last year.
"WADA will suspend the accreditation of a lab for up to six months if it reports two false negative results in tests," the Xinhua News Agency quoted Xu saying on Friday.
However, WADA neither confirmed nor denied this, telling The Guardian: "It is crucial that all accredited laboratories uphold the highest standards expected of them, so that clean athletes and the sporting community at large can have full confidence in the system."