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Witold Bańka

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Witold Bańka
4th President of WADA
Assumed office
1 January 2020
Vice PresidentYang Yang
Preceded byCraig Reedie
Minister of Sport and Tourism
In office
16 November 2015 – 15 November 2019
Prime MinisterBeata Szydło
Mateusz Morawiecki
Preceded byAdam Korol
Succeeded byMateusz Morawiecki
Personal details
Born (1984-10-03) 3 October 1984 (age 39)
Tychy, Poland
Political partyLaw and Justice
Alma materUniversity of Silesia in Katowice
ProfessionSprinter
Political scientist
Signature

Witold Bańka (Polish pronunciation: [vʲitɔld baɲka] ⓘ; born 3 October 1984) is a Polish former 400 metres sprinter[1] turned politician. Since November 2015, he has been the Minister of Sport and Tourism in the cabinet of Beata Szydło and cabinet of Mateusz Morawiecki. In May 2019, he was elected President of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

Athletic career

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Bańka's biggest achievement as an athlete was the bronze medal in the 4 × 400 metres relay at the 2007 World Championships although he only competed in the heats. He also won several relay medals at lower level competitions. He retired from professional sport in 2012 having failed to qualify for the 2012 Summer Olympics.[2]

Personal bests

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Outdoor

  • 200 metres – 21.83 (+1.5 m/s, Bielsko-Biała 2006)
  • 400 metres – 46.11 (Osaka 2007)

Indoor

  • 400 metres – 48.87 (Spała 2009)

Competition record

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Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing  Poland
2005 European U23 Championships Erfurt, Germany 1st 4 × 400 m relay 3:04.41
2007 Universiade Bangkok, Thailand 1st 4 × 400 m relay 3:02.05
World Championships Osaka, Japan 3rd (heats) 4 × 400 m relay 3:02.391
2009 Universiade Belgrade, Serbia 2nd 4 × 400 m relay 3:05.69

1He was not selected for the final where the Polish team finished third but also received a bronze medal.

Political career

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In 2018 he became a candidate for the chair of the World Anti-Doping Agency.[3] Poland’s sport minister Witold Banka has been chosen as Europe’s candidate to become the next head of the World Anti-Doping Agency.[4] In May 2019 Bańka was elected as WADA's fourth president, commencing his four-year term on 1 January 2020.[5] He was re-elected in 2022 for another three year term.[6]

Chinese swimmers doping allegations

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See also: World Anti-Doping Agency § Chinese doping allegations

On 20 April 2024, The New York Times revealed that 23 members of the Chinese swimming team tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug called Trimetazidine seven months prior to the start of the 2020 Summer Games and were allowed to participate in the games with some of the swimmers winning medals. Following the publication of the report, Travis Tygart, CEO of the United States Anti-Doping Agency, accused the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the Chinese Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA) of covering up doping by Chinese swimmers.[7][8]

WADA argued the amount detected was too low to enhance performance. CHINADA, who had reported the results to WADA and FINA (now World Aquatics), blamed them on contamination from a hotel kitchen, a rationale that potentially exempts findings from being made public.[9] WADA released a statement, explaining that "[it] was not possible for WADA scientists or investigators to conduct their enquiries on the ground in China given the extreme restrictions in place due to a COVID-related lockdown. WADA ultimately concluded that it was not in a position to disprove the possibility that contamination was the source of TMZ and it was compatible with the analytical data in the file."[10] World Aquatics's investigation agreed with WADA.[11]

After the story was leaked, WADA was criticised by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and athletes. WADA's choice of a Swiss attorney to lead an investigation into the matter also drew criticism because he was hand-picked by the agency.[12] Experts interviewed by The New York Times said trace amounts of TMZ can be detected near the end of a doping excretion period but could not rule out contamination either.[13]

In a second statement, Tygart accused both World Anti-Doping Agency and the Chinese Anti-Doping Agency for not being transparent about the findings and keeping "clean athletes in the dark". WADA was also accused of having a double-standard as Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva tested positive for TMZ and used the same excuse, but was subsequently banned for four years. WADA argued, based on non-published information and pharmacokinetics, that contamination would not have been possible in Valieva's case, but in the case of the Chinese swimmers, that no international competition was occurring around the time of the positive tests, only athletes who stayed at one of the hotels tested positive, and some individuals alternated between positive and negative results all point to contamination, not doping.[14][15] In May 2024, WADA announced that it will hold an extraordinary meeting to discuss the doping case of the Chinese swimmers.[16][17]

Eleven of the 23 swimmers involved in the controversy were named to the 2024 Chinese Olympic swimming team.[18]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Witold Bańka at World Athletics Edit this at Wikidata
  2. ^ "Niespełniony biegacz ministrem sportu. Kim jest Witold Bańka?" (in Polish). eurosport.onet.pl. 2015-11-09. Retrieved 2016-01-18.
  3. ^ "WADA Presidential Candidate". aroundtherings.com. 2019-05-06. Retrieved 2019-05-06.
  4. ^ "Europe chooses Polish sports minister". reuters.com. 2019-05-06. Retrieved 2019-05-06.
  5. ^ "New WADA president". swimswam.com. 2019-05-14. Retrieved 2019-05-14.
  6. ^ "Bańka WADA president to 2025". swimswam.com. 2022-11-18. Retrieved 2022-11-18.
  7. ^ Mann, Brian (April 22, 2024). "'Ban them all.' With Paris Games looming, Chinese doping scandal rocks Olympic sport". NPR. Archived from the original on April 22, 2024. Retrieved April 22, 2024.
  8. ^ "23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for banned substance before 2021 Olympics: WADA". ABC News. 20 April 2024. Archived from the original on 20 April 2024. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  9. ^ MacInnes, Paul (22 April 2024). "Wada defends its actions over Chinese swimmers' doping allegations". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 22 April 2024. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  10. ^ "WADA statement on case of 23 swimmers from China". WADA. 20 April 2024. Archived from the original on 20 April 2024.
  11. ^ Rieder, David (30 April 2024). "WADA Releases Fact Sheet on Chinese Doping Violations". Swimming World News. Archived from the original on 30 April 2024.
  12. ^ Auerbach, Nicole. "Chinese doping scandal roils Olympic swimming: The latest, and what it means for Paris". The Athletic. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 13 May 2024. Retrieved 2024-05-25.
  13. ^ Schmidt, Michael S.; Vrentas, Jenny; Panja, Tariq (12 May 2024). "Ahead of Olympics, World Anti-Doping Agency Faces a Trust Crisis". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 12 May 2024. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  14. ^ "WADA publishes Fact Sheet/Frequently Asked Questions in relation to contamination case involving swimmers from China". World Anti Doping Agency. 29 April 2024. Archived from the original on 2 May 2024.
  15. ^ "As Paris Olympics approach, concerns continue after doping watchdog cleared Chinese swimmers in 2021". CBC News. 24 May 2024. Archived from the original on 24 May 2024.
  16. ^ McCarthy, Simone (2024-04-21). "World Anti-Doping Agency defends handling of elite Chinese swimmers who tested positive for banned drug". CNN. Archived from the original on 21 April 2024. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
  17. ^ "Wada calls extraordinary meeting over China swimmers". BBC Sport. 2024-05-14. Archived from the original on 14 May 2024. Retrieved 2024-05-16.
  18. ^ "China names 11 doping scandal swimmers in its Paris Olympics team". NBC News. 19 June 2024. Archived from the original on 19 June 2024. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
[edit]
Political offices
Preceded by Minister of Sports and Tourism in Poland
2015–2019 		Succeeded by
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