A report by Swiss prosecutor and lead investigator Eric Cottier found there was nothing in the file to suggest Wada in any way favoured the 23 swimmers who tested positive for trimetazidine (TMZ), a medication that increases blood flow to the heart.

The swimmers were cleared by a Chinese investigation which said they were inadvertently exposed to the drug through contamination. The report determined the swimmers were staying at a hotel where traces of TMZ were discovered in the kitchen.

Wada said it had no evidence to challenge China’s findings and that external counsel had advised against appealing them.

Cottier’s investigation reached a similar conclusion, finding no irregularities on the part of Wada’s review of the China Anti-Doping Agency (Chinada) decision and that it had covered all relevant issues in determining whether or not to appeal the decision.

“All the elements taken into consideration by Wada, whether they come from the file produced by Chinada with its decision or from the investigation procedures that it carried out, show the decision not to appeal to be reasonable, both from the point of view of the facts and the applicable rules,” wrote Cottier in his report.