Just before Utah was awarded the Winter Games at the International Olympic Committee session in Paris, IOC members urged local organizers to lobby the federal government to end a federal investigation into doping, or risk losing the 2034 Games.
The demand relates to a case involving 23 Chinese swimmers who tested positive for a powerful banned substance months before the 2021 Tokyo Games. Several of the athletes who tested positive went on to win medals, including three golds, and some are preparing to compete at the Paris Games that begin Friday.
The United States has been extremely critical of the World Anti-Doping Agency, or WADA, for its lack of action.
WADA said there was a “lack of any credible evidence” to challenge China’s claim that the athletes were accidentally exposed to the drug while eating at a hotel.
Less than a year after the Chinese swim team case, a Russian figure skater tested positive for the same banned heart drug known as TMZ. The skater also blamed food contamination, however she was barred from international competition for four years.
The contrast in punishment fueled speculation of a cover up by the Chinese, and the FBI and Justice Department have since launched a criminal investigation into the matter.
During a U.S. House subcommittee hearing in June, 23-time Olympic Gold Medalist Michael Phelps spoke about the state of doping in international sport.
“Right now, people are just getting away with everything. There are people who are testing positive that are still having the opportunity to compete internationally,” Phelps said. “If somebody does test positive, I would like to see a lifetime ban.”
Despite U.S. concerns, IOC officials want the investigation into WADA to end.
Ingmar De Vos, president elect of the Association of the Olympic Summer Sports Federations, brought up the U.S. investigation Wednesday ahead of the final 2034 Games vote.
“Several United States initiatives based upon this case on Chinese so consequently foreign soil, are extremely worrying and basically for us unacceptable,” De Vos said. “They are the result of the famous Rodchenkov Act that we have already questioned many times in the past.”
The Rodchenkov Act was passed by Congress in 2020 and criminalizes doping intended to influence sports. It allows U.S. prosecutors to seek prison terms of up to 10 years and fines up to $1 million.
Utah organizers were quick to tell IOC officials they would respect the authority of WADA. Along with Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said they’d work with the federal government to ease tensions.
“We will use all the levers of power open to us to resolve these concerns,” Cox said.
Following Wednesday’s vote, the head of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, Travis Tygart, doubled down on concerns about WADA’s decision making.
Tygart, who has publicly feuded with WADA in the past, said it was “shocking to see the IOC itself stooping to threats in an apparent effort to silence those seeking answers to what are now known as facts.”
Salt Lake City’s host contract was amended to include a condition requiring the U.S. to comply with WADA’s authority.
Under the contract’s conditions the 2034 Olympics could be moved out of Utah if the doping issue can’t be resolved to the IOC’s satisfaction.
