Following reports that 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for a banned prescription medication (TMZ) ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, former Olympic swimmers Michael Phelps and Allison Schmitt will testify in a prime-time hearing hosted by a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee at 7 p.m. ET on June 25, 2024.
The hearing will be streamed live here, and will focus on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) failure to enforce fair standards and a seeming pattern of preferential treatment.
In addition to presenting critically important athlete perspectives, the hearing will include testimony from U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO, Travis T. Tygart. The president of WADA, Witold Banka, was also invited to testify but declined.
The hearing, titled “Examining Anti-Doping Measures in Advance of the 2024 Olympics,” was called by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chair Morgan Griffith (R-VA).
According to Chairs Rodgers and Griffith, “Olympic athletes dedicate years of their lives to perfect their craft in order to represent the United States on the world stage. 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.”
The hearing also follows more recent reports that three of those 23 Chinese athletes who tested positive for TMZ also tested positive for a different performance-enhancing drug a few years earlier. In both cases, the Chinese Anti-Doping Agency (CHINADA) and WADA failed to enforce provisional suspensions and publicly announce violations, which should have happened as required under the rules even if the positive tests were caused by contamination, as CHINADA and WADA claim. Two of these athletes won medals at the Tokyo Olympics and all three will compete again in the Paris Olympics.
“We are extremely grateful to the U.S. Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation for their commitment to ensuring that athletes around the world get the answers they deserve regarding WADA’s handling of positive tests by Chinese athletes and how WADA will ensure the Paris Games offer athletes a truly level playing field,” said Tygart. “The Committee joins others asking for the concrete evidence that WADA stakeholders need to feel confident in WADA’s ability to serve as the global regulator that will uphold the rules equally and without special treatment for a certain few. We look forward to supporting this effort and again thank the Committee for their work on behalf of athletes and clean sport.”
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