Champion swimmer Michael Phelps, the most decorated athlete in the history of the Olympic Games, told members of Congress on Tuesday that he has lost his faith in the World Anti-Doping Agency, the doping control agency enmeshed with the Olympics.
"It is clear to me that any attempts at reform at WADA have fallen short and that there are still deeply rooted systemic problems that prove detrimental to the integrity of international sports and athletes’ right to fair competition, time and time again," Phelps told a congressional subcommittee examining anti-doping measures — and how the federal government should help fund WADA — ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
"As athletes, our faith can no longer be blindly placed in the World Anti-Doping Agency, an organization that continues to prove that it is either incapable or unwilling to enforce its policies consistently around the world," he added.
Phelps was joined at a meeting of the Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations by fellow Olympian Allison Schmitt and Travis Tygart, the CEO of the United States Anti-Doping Agency.
The meeting, which took place about month before of the 2024 Paris games, was deeply critical haranguing of how WADA has handled doping in sports, especially in the wake of 23 Chinese swimmers testing positive for an illegal substance ahead of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
An investigation from the Chinese Anti-Doping Agency, or CHINADA, found the athletes tested positive from eating food tainted with a drug intended to increase stamina and recovery times. WADA found CHINADA’s investigation to be plausible and moved on without further investigation. Three of the Chinese swimmers went on to win gold medals at the Tokyo games later that year.
An investigation of the events suggested that WADA moved on from the positive tests despite allegations from both USADA and the International Testing Agency that the Chinese samples had been manipulated, improperly reported or hidden.
For members of Congress, the Chinese swimmer incident was the second strike in three Olympic cycles. An independent report published in 2016 found that the Russian government led a doping program benefiting more than 1,000 Russian athletes. More than 30 Russian athletes were stripped of medals won at the 2012 London Olympics.
The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy in 2020 advised that Congress withhold funding from WADA if it fails to "meet basic standards for effectiveness, independence, transparency and responsiveness to the athlete voice, and fails to promote U.S. representation commensurate with the United States’ financial contributions to WADA."
In Fiscal Year 2024, the U.S. contributed about $3.7 million in funding to WADA.
WADA President Witold Banka, a Polish former sprinter, declined an invitation to appear before the subcommittee Wednesday.
"WADA received nearly $4 million in U.S. taxpayer dollars through Congress last fiscal year. Their refusal to appear today calls into question their commitment to accountability — and perhaps if they’re not going to do the job, we shouldn’t even fund them," Subcommittee Chair Morgan Griffith, R-Va., said in his opening remarks.
"Cheating athletes take away spots and medals from clean athletes. The integrity and sanctity of sports is critical for the Olympians competing but also for the children who dream one day to be an Olympian," he added.
The world agency also declined a hearing invitation from Germany’s Bundestag, the nation’s federal parliament, offered earlier this month, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers noted.
"As Olympians, we adhere to strict protocols, from filling out forms to update our whereabouts every hour of the day, avoiding every topical cream supplement, and even cold medication just in case it could test positive…these efforts are rooted in a belief that fair competition is worth every sacrifice," Schmitt told the subcommittee. She was among the American relay team that won the silver medal in the 2021 Olympics, losing to China by four tenths of a second.
"We raced hard, we followed every protocol and accepted our defeat with grace. Three years later new surface as some Chinese athletes on that team are not subjected to the same anti doping rules, casting doubt on the fairness of the competition. With these revelations, many of us will be haunted by this podium finish that may have been impacted by doping," Schmitt said.
In his remarks, Tygartt offered a three-point plan for Congress to impress upon WADA: First, to demand that WADA make the entire China investigation dossier public; second, to demand that WADA set up an independent expert committee to oversee decisions over positive anti-doping tests that do not result in rule violations; and third, to condition further funding on a compliance audit of WADA.
"No country is immune to the scourge of doping, including here in the U.S.," Tygartt said, drawing memories of disgraced world cycling champion Lance Armstrong, who had his victories tainted by failed drug tests.
The Office of National Drug Control Policy, Tygartt noted, has the discretionary power to decide how the funding to WADA is distributed and that the office can be made to "adhere to how Congress expects its taxpayer money to be spent."
"Make no mistake, we need to have a strong WADA. And maybe we need to pay more! But we should not continue to pay bad money after bad money when we’ve seen this pattern of behavior happen," Tygartt said.