U.S. lawmakers target World Anti-Doping Agency over 2021 Olympics scandal

DELMARVA – All eyes have certainly been on Paris, as the 2024 Summer Olympics take over the French capital. However, other news has recently rocked the Olympic world. The New York Times has uncovered a performance-enhancing drug scandal. It was allegedly covered up just months before the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Withholding From WADA

Now, American lawmakers, including those from Maryland, are teaming up to hold the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accountable.

They plan to do so through newly introduced bipartisan legislation.

The bill would allow the head of the U.S. Office of National Drug Control to withhold funding to WADA. Lawmakers say that withholding would come if WADA does not ensure fair representation of athletes on governing bodies, and address conflicts of interest. The United States is the largest financial contributor to WADA in the world.

“We want to make sure that… every American – in fact, every athlete in the world – can be assured that there is a fair and even playing field,” said Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen. “We have got to make sure that the bodies that are responsible for ensuring a level playing field do their job.”

Swimming Scandal

Just months before the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, 23 top Chinese swimmers were caught using trimetazidine. It’s a powerful performance-enhancing drug. About half of those athletes would win medals, and three of them brought home the coveted gold.

“Eleven of those athletes are competing in the Paris Olympics, and not one of them has been held accountable,” said Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee.

Chinese authorities answered the positive drug tests by telling WADA that the athletes had been drugged via food contamination.

“Normally, these positive tests would trigger certain protocols, like hearings, temporary suspensions, independent investigations, and public disclosures. That didn’t happen,” said Sen. Van Hollen. “This incident raises the deepest fears of our athletes.”

Suspicion and Tensions Grow

Since then, suspicion and tensions have only grown.

In 2022, two of those same athletes tested positive for a banned steroid, which was again blamed on food contamination. U.S. lawmakers say that WADA again accepted that explanation, and failed to investigate.

More recently, the FBI opened an investigation against WADA for its alleged cover-up of doping in Olympic athletes. In response, the International Olympic Committee and WADA have reportedly threatened Salt Lake City’s bid for the 2034 Winter Olympics.

WADA has worked against U.S. lawmakers “at every turn,” said Sen. Blackburn. “We will not be silenced for trying to promote fair play.”

Athletes Ask for Accountability

Both Olympians and Paralympians are calling attention to the issue.

23-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps, and four-time Olympic gold medalist Allison Schmitt, recently testified before Congress, asking them to hold WADA accountable. The storied swimmers are not the only ones calling for action.

Greta Neimanas, retired Paralympian cyclist and world champion medalist, says the legislation is crucial to ensuring that athletes have equal representation at WADA and a fair shot.

“[WADA] members are not at all responsible for representing the interest of athletes, nor are they held accountable by the athletes,” Neimanas said. “The athletes are the reason we have the Olympic and Paralympic games, and yet their best interests are not represented in the biggest rooms over and over again.”

Going For Gold

For Allison Wagner, a medalist in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, these efforts are personal.

The swimmer, who is also a world champion, would go home with a silver medal. However, it was later revealed that Wagner had competed against athletes proven to have been doping. Wagner is now the Director of Athlete and International Relations at the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

“I learned first-hand what kind of impact those experiences can have on an athlete’s life, well-being, and sports career,” Wagner said. “I learned that my integrity, dedication, and sacrifices as an athlete were not valued and protected by those in positions of power and decision-making.”

Looking ahead, Wagner hopes that the next generation of athletes will be able to go for gold.

“Athletes deserve to have the global anti-doping system to reflect the dedication and integrity that they demonstrate in competing,” Wagner said. “This system needs to protect every athlete’s sacrifices and honest dedication.”