WADA investigator implicated in controversial US Anti-Doping Agency sting operation involving Kenyan runner

WADA investigator accused of aiding USADA in controversial scheme to recruit Kenyan runner as undercover informant.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has found itself at the center of a growing controversy, with a senior investigator allegedly implicated in a scheme orchestrated by the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) to recruit a Kenyan runner as an undercover informant.

The revelation, which came to light through an investigation by The Guardian, has sparked a heated debate between the two most powerful anti-doping organizations in world sport.

The controversy revolves around a covert operation that USADA conducted, in which athletes who had failed drug tests were recruited to provide intelligence on doping practices.

The case of a Kenyan runner who became an undercover agent has become the focal point of the dispute, raising significant ethical and procedural questions about the tactics employed by USADA and WADA's role in the affair.

WADA's allegations against USADA

WADA has accused USADA of breaching the World Anti-Doping Code by recruiting athletes who had failed drug tests to act as informants.

According to WADA, these athletes were allowed to continue competing, often with reduced or no sanctions, in exchange for providing "substantial assistance" in exposing doping networks.

This practice, WADA claims, is "deeply unfair to other athletes" and falls outside the accepted rules of anti-doping enforcement.

“WADA was not notified of this scheme prior to 2021 and did not sign off on it. WADA has no record that its investigator at the time was notified of this practice. In any event, [the investigator] would not have had the authority to approve this practice, which was conducted by USADA completely outside of the rules," WADA spokesperson said in a statement.

WADA insists that when it learned of the operation in 2021, five years after it began, it immediately instructed USADA to cease all such activities.

"When WADA’s legal department discovered in the fall of 2021 what USADA had been doing, it immediately instructed USADA in writing to desist,” the spokesperson added.

The role of the WADA investigator

However, The Guardian has uncovered evidence suggesting that a senior WADA investigator may have played a role in aiding USADA's operation, raising serious questions about what WADA knew and when.

This revelation has led to speculation about internal divisions within WADA and whether the organization is fully aligned in its approach to combating doping in sport.

According to sources close to the situation, the WADA investigator's involvement in the USADA operation has cast doubt on WADA's public stance against the practice.

The timing of WADA's criticism, which emerged during the Paris 2024 Olympics—more than three years after the agency claims it was first informed of the operation—has further fueled suspicions.

USADA's defense and the Kenyan runner's role

For its part, USADA has defended the operation as a necessary measure to infiltrate and dismantle sophisticated doping networks, particularly those operating in African and US-based training groups.

USADA officials argue that traditional testing methods are insufficient to catch all doping offenders, especially those who are adept at evading detection through advanced techniques.

 Investigator Victor Burgos who was involved in the operation, stated: "Testing is not enough. Just look at the hard numbers. Globally we collect 250,000-300,000 samples annually and less than 0.5% come back positive. That’s just not acceptable. This is the level of action you require. You need to get creative."

The operation in question involved a young Kenyan runner who was preparing to join a training camp in the United States, where athletes often train at high altitudes to enhance their oxygen-carrying capacity.

The runner was approached with a deal: go undercover and provide information about other dopers in exchange for the opportunity to continue competing.

The arrangement, which included involvement from the US federal Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), placed the athlete in a precarious position, effectively turning him into a government informant.

The runner's cooperation allowed USADA to gain critical insights into doping practices within certain training groups, leading to the eventual sanctioning of several athletes.

However, the ethical implications of this approach have been called into question, particularly given that the undercover athlete was allowed to compete without an initial sanction, potentially giving him an unfair advantage over his competitors.

A battle of wills: WADA vs. USADA

The fallout from the operation has exacerbated tensions between WADA and USADA, two organizations that have clashed frequently over their respective approaches to anti-doping enforcement.

Before the Paris Olympics, USADA was vocal in its criticism of WADA for what it perceived as a failure to adequately address doping issues within Chinese athletics, including 23 positive tests for the banned substance TMZ and two positive tests for metandienone among Chinese swimmers.

During the Paris 2024 Olympics, the two agencies clashed once again, with WADA accusing USADA of overstepping its bounds and operating outside the established rules. USADA, in turn, has defended its methods as necessary for protecting the integrity of sport.

Sources close to World Athletics, the sport's governing body, have indicated that USADA's undercover operation was instrumental in breaking up several doping networks and that it played a crucial role in cleaning up the sport.

However, WADA's public condemnation of the practice has raised doubts about the effectiveness and fairness of such methods.

The broader impact on Kenyan athletics

The undercover operation has also had significant repercussions for Kenyan athletics, a sport that has long been revered for its clean and disciplined athletes.

However, the rise of doping scandals in recent years has tarnished that image, with several high-profile Kenyan runners facing sanctions.

Among the most notable cases is that of Wilson Kipsang, the former marathon world record-holder and 2014 London Marathon winner, who was banned for four years for "whereabouts failures" between April 2018 and May 2019.

Kipsang, who did not fail any drug tests, argued that he had never used prohibited substances and that drug testers had made procedural errors. Nonetheless, the hearing found against him.

Similarly, Jemima Sumgong, the 2016 Olympic marathon champion, was banned for eight years in 2019 after testing positive for EPO. Sumgong contested the findings, claiming that emergency medical treatment was responsible for the positive test.

Daniel Wanjiru, the 2017 London Marathon winner, was also banned in 2020 for abnormalities in his blood passport, despite denying the use of performance-enhancing drugs.

It is worth noting that, for legal reasons and to protect the identity of those involved in undercover operations, The Guardian has agreed not to name individuals.