Former Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps called on Congress on June 25 to confront the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) over alleged Chinese cheating.
“Congress continues to consolidate its considerable leverage of WADA to make the organization independent and effective. It can’t reasonably be a coincidence that WADA has yet again succumbed to the pressures of international sport,” Mr. Phelps said in his opening testimony before a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing examining anti-doping measures ahead of this year’s Olympics.
WADA’s role involves ensuring that Olympic athletes have taken no illegal substances that would give them an unfair advantage.
Mr. Phelps, who holds the record for most Olympic gold medals (23), criticized the current situation.
“Close friends were potentially impacted by WADA’s failure to follow its own rules in investigating the nearly two dozen positive tests on Chinese swimmers,” he said.
Mr. Phelps was referring to the recent revelations that WADA allowed 23 Chinese swimmers to compete at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 even though the swimmers had tested positive for a banned heart medication. Five of the Chinese swimmers won medals at the games, including three golds.
“I urge you, members of Congress, to engage in the fight against doping,” Mr. Phelps said. “We can uphold the values of fairness and integrity that are the cornerstone of Olympic and Paralympic sport, to ensure that every athlete, regardless where they’re from, has the opportunity to compete to compete fairly and achieve their dreams.”
Mr. Phelps was joined by U.S. Anti-Doping Agency CEO Travis Tygart and former Olympic swimmer Allison Schmitt.
House Committee Seeks Answers
In a May 21 letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray, the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party noted that China gave WADA $2 million more than its required annual contribution in the two years before the swimming scandal.WADA hasn’t punished the 23 Chinese swimmers who tested positive and instead depended on a Chinese investigation into the matter.
China said that the positive tests were caused by contamination in the kitchen of the hotel where the swimmers stayed ahead of the Tokyo Olympics. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency has said the explanation “does not pass the smell test.” The U.S. government has called for an independent investigation into the swimmers.
The Department of Justice and FBI didn’t respond to a request by The Epoch Times for comment about the letter.
In a separate May 21 letter addressed to International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach, the members of Congress called on the IOC to take “swift, decisive, and fully transparent action to address” the Chinese doping scandal and its alleged cover-up.
“When the anti-doping system is compromised, clean athletes bear the consequences, and their years of dedication and hard work are overshadowed by the specter of doping allegations,” the letter stated.
“How the IOC responds to this scandal will directly affect this summer’s Olympic games and their promise of fair play that unites athletes from around the globe.”
The IOC didn’t respond to an Epoch Times request for comment about the letter.
The Summer Olympics will take place in Paris between July 26 and Aug. 11.
