The House of Representatives’ Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations is holding a hearing on Tuesday focused on the anti-doping system ahead of the Paris Olympics next month.
Among the confirmed witnesses are 23-time Olympic champion Michael Phelps, 10-time Olympic medalist Allison Schmitt, and U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart. World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) president Witold Banka was also invited, but he declined.
Last month, Katie Ledecky said her faith in the Olympic anti-doping system was at an “all-time low” following reports in April that 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for trimetazidine (TMZ) seven months before the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. They were never provisionally banned, and three (Zhang Yufei, Wang Shun, and Yang Junxuan) went on to win Olympic gold medals in Tokyo after their positive tests were chalked up to contamination from their hotel kitchen.
- Related: Three Chinese Swimmers Reportedly Tested Positive Before 2021 Incident, Also Went Unpunished
“Olympic athletes dedicate years of their lives to perfect their craft in order to represent the United States on the world stage,” House Energy and Commerce Committee chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations chair Morgan Griffith (R-VA) said in a joint statement. “They—as well as athletes from every other country—deserve to compete on a level playing field that’s free of banned performance enhancing drugs. The World Anti-Doping Agency, the governing body responsible for enforcing fair standards, has a questionable track record of fulfilling that mission. This hearing will give Members a chance to examine that track record, identify opportunities for improvement, and ensure that the best athletes are the ones taking home gold medals.”
Banka was also invited to a hearing before the Sports Committee of the German Bundestag in late May, but he declined due to prior commitments.
“(Allegations of) mass doping of Chinese swimmers and a deliberate cover-up by WADA are entirely false,” Banka wrote to the German Bundestag last month. “The analytical results in these cases were simply not compatible with doping.”
A separate House committee on China called last month for the Department of Justice to investigate WADA’s handling of the 2021 Chinese doping controversy.
In April, WADA appointed a Swiss prosecutor to review the case after catching criticism from the White House, USADA, and international swimming federations. Findings are expected to be released right before the Paris Olympics next month. Among the main questions is why the Chinese swimmers were not provisionally suspended after testing positive for TMZ.
The U.S. is a major contributor to WADA, funding almost $3 million of the organization’s $43.4 million budget in 2021. Half of WADA’s funding came from the International Olympic Committee.
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Lost respect for him after his Thorpe and Campbell hate
BREAKING NEWS: Swimswam commenter known as “Australia Kings” no longer respects 28 time olympic medalist, 33 time world championship medalist, 39 time world record holder, Michael Phelps. How will this effect his legacy????
If Congress really cared they would start funding the usopc like every other country in the world does
Any chance the video could be made available, or the link to it, after it is streamed? Some families have high schools graduations to attend at the streaming time.
Be careful, Michael; this is how they got Roger Clemens.
The truth will come out eventually, just as it did regarding the DDR.
The systematic aspect of it is just sickening. I imagine that there are probably countless kids in China, barely into puberty, who have to take this crap and then only a handful succeeds. The rest just has to live with the (severe) consequences and doesn’t even get a little success for it. And it’s not like you can refuse in a system like that. I’m not sure whether you’re the real Petra Schneider, but I’m just assuming that you are. So, I want to tell you, that you were incredible when you came forward. How you stood up and said “This is what happened and this is who did it!”. I was a kid at time and I wasn’t from… Read more »
This is why I am so opposed to any measure that would reduce efficacy of testing or harshness of sentencing (and I would be happy about blanket life bans for first offenses).
If it was just adults, I’m less sure how I would feel, but best practice (from a purely performance perspective) would be to have children on these substances quite young, causing irreversible change to their bodies and effecting their health for the rest of their life. Children aren’t knowledgeable or old enough to assess the health risks and make these decisions for themselves.
I’m 100% with you. It is one thing to decide as an adult to take whatever “vitamins” your coach hands you without questioning it. Or maybe even going out and seeking PEDs yourself. But we all know that in China, just as it was in the former GDR, even young kids get sent to these performance centers and if they’re lucky they get to see their parents every once in a while but basically their lives are run by the adults in charge there. And if they tell them to take the pill, they have to take it. These coaches and officials and doctors and whoever else is invovled all belong behind bars. It’s absolutely disgusting.
In the former… Read more »
can we also have a congressional hearing regarding the mandatory elimination of MP’s man bun? It’s gone on long enough.
He’s a trailblazer
I agree – I don’t like it either.
All you have to do is show him a video of the aussies laughing at it while playing air guitars, and Phelps will take it personally.
I’m willing to do my part.
I’m Australian, it looks ridiculous.