Moira Warburton, Allende Miglietta
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. swimming star Michael Phelps told a congressional panel on Tuesday that anti-doping measures in the case involving a Chinese swimmer ahead of this summer’s Paris Olympics had been “insufficient.”
Phelps, fellow gold medalist Allison Schmidt and U.S. Anti-Doping Agency Director Travis Tygart testified to members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee on the actions led by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). .
“It is clear that any attempt at reform at WADA has failed,” Phelps said. “There are still deep-rooted systemic problems that harm international sport and athletes’ right to compete fairly.” Hearing.
With 28 medals, Phelps is the most decorated Olympian in history. Schmidt won 10 medals over 4 games. Neither will compete in Paris.
WADA confirmed reports in April that nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers had tested positive for trimetazidine, a banned substance found in heart medications, prior to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Schmidt urged lawmakers to hold WADA and the global anti-doping system accountable.
“If we win, it’s because we earned it. If we lose, it’s because the competition was fair,” Schmidt said.
WADA was asked to testify but declined to do so, citing the hearing’s focus on the Chinese swimmer’s case.
“We believe it is inappropriate for a U.S. congressional committee to become embroiled in a political debate about an incident that occurred in another country,” WADA said in a statement.
CHINADA, China’s anti-doping agency, said the swimmers were accidentally exposed due to contamination and should not be held responsible for the positive results. China announced its 31-member swimming team this month.
WADA said in April it would send a compliance team to assess China’s anti-doping program, but leading swimmers, including seven-time gold medalist Katie Ledecky, competing in Paris, continued to raise concerns. expressed.
Lawmakers from both parties criticized WADA’s handling of the case.
WADA’s refusal to testify is “completely unacceptable,” said Republican Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, noting that WADA received more than $3 million in funding from the U.S. government last year.
Last month, a separate House committee urged the Justice Department and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to open an investigation into doping cases involving Chinese swimmers.
Phelps also said in prepared testimony that he had close friends who were affected by the incident.
“Many of them will be living with ‘what if’ for the rest of their lives,” Phelps said. “As athletes, our trust can no longer be blindly placed in the hands of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WDA), an organization that continues to demonstrate its inability or unwillingness to enforce its policies consistently across the globe. “
