Olympic medal hopefuls privately warn of anti-China protests in Paris amid growing outrage over doping test row over 'contamination' approximately 23 swimmers prior to the previous Games.
Anger among athletes comes like this the World Anti-Doping Agency is under renewed scrutiny about the independence of an investigation into how those who tested positive came to compete with each other.
Stage protests were banned ahead of Tokyo 2021, but an exchange in an athlete messaging group suggests other demonstrations would be considered if Wada fails to address concerns by July.
Scrutiny is intensifying as leading anti-doping specialists also question the credibility of a new investigation into Wada's apparent decision to clear China in 2021 after positive tests for banned substances months before the Games.
US Anti-Doping Agency CEO Travis Tygart claims the new investigation is “pre-cooked” in Wada's favor after a Swiss-based lawyer was brought in to lead the review.
Team USA Athletes' Commission and USA Swimming Athletes' Advisory Council also jointly wrote to Wada saying they are “extremely concerned” about the matter.
The new review “appears to be a 'check the box' exercise that will be substantially limited… and thus will not reveal the whole truth,” the letter said.
“We are once again heading into another Olympic and Paralympic Games with serious concerns about whether the playing field is level and fair.
“The decisions Wada has made, the manner in which they were made and the lack of transparency have undermined our confidence in Wada's mission to 'lead a collective global movement for doping-free sport'.”
US athletes have led the most outspoken attacks since the row erupted this month, but there is also consternation behind the scenes in the Team Great Britain camp, with Adam Peaty labeling the situation on April 20 as “so disappointing from Wada” .
Following investigations by the New York Times and Germany's ARD Network, Wada said this month that it was “not in a position to refute a claim by the China Anti-Doping Agency (Chinada) that it unintentionally sold heart drug trimetazidine (TMZ) had taken.
Medal-winning swimmers have previously made their feelings known against Chinese Mennonites, with Britain's Duncan Scott and Australia's Mack Horton both refuse to acknowledge Sun Yang at the world championships in 2019. Swimming's world governing body Fina allows athletes to express their opinions at press conferences and through media channels, but protests at medal ceremonies are banned.
Lausanne-based prosecutor Eric Cottier is now expected to announce the findings of an investigation within two months to address athletes' concerns ahead of this summer's games.
However, after The Times detailed how Cottier had spent more than a decade working with an auditor who praised Wada in 2021 for his “incredibly impressive and strong work,” Tygart and other leading figures have questioned why other, more clearly independent voices were not considered taken. Professor Richard McLaren, who provided the findings of the independent report on Russian doping, was, among other things, never contacted, Telegraph Sport understands.
“Richard certainly would have been a better choice,” Tygart said. “It was clearly already pre-cooked to reach such an agreement in Wada's own backyard.
“It smacks of a lack of independence. Why, if you're not afraid of anything, would you decorate it so scary? This will achieve nothing more than a condoning of what they have done.”
The “second problem,” he adds, “is the limited scope” of the evaluation being conducted. “The lack of willingness to actually facilitate a meaningful review has already undermined its credibility,” he added. “I could probably write exactly what that report is going to say today.”
Such claims are firmly rejected by Wada. A spokesperson told Telegraph Sport that Cottier “has a strong reputation as a prosecutor with 39 years of experience in Switzerland”, is “completely independent of Wada, the sports movement and governments, and is well known and widely respected”.
Attempts “to tarnish the integrity of a highly regarded prosecutor before he has even begun his job are becoming increasingly ridiculous,” Wada added.