WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – We are one month from the start of the 2024 Olympics and Olympic champion Michael Phelps was on Capitol Hill Tuesday night slamming the world anti-doping agency over its handling of certain cases.
Phelps and other Olympians told lawmakers the world ant-doping agency has let athletes down and appears to be encouraging cheating.
“I don’t want kids growing up thinking that it’s only doping and cheating where you’re able to do these unfathomable things,” said Phelps.
Phelps and Allison Schmitt are calling on lawmakers to hold the world anti-doping agency accountable for failing to properly police allegations of cheating by Chinese athletes during the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
“We just want fairness in sport,” said Schmitt.
Phelps, the 23-time Olympic gold medalist, says he was the highest-tested athlete.
“I was getting tested 100, 150 times myself in a year,” he said.
Last month, House lawmakers called for the Justice Department and the International Olympic Committee to launch an investigation into the doping case involving the Chinese swimmers.
“In 2018 and 2019, coincidentally, China paid WADA nearly $2 million more than their required annual dues payments,” said Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.).
The world anti-doping agency declined to attend Tuesday’s hearing.
Lawmakers are considering putting conditions on the nearly $4 million the agency gets from the U.S.
