Several members of China’s national swimming team remain embroiled in a doping scandal.
The swimmers in question have come under fire since testing positive for the banned heart drug trimetazidine in 2021.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) finally Freed the players To compete in the Tokyo Olympics.
The Chinese Swimming Association last month selected some of these athletes for its 2024 Olympic team, and they are preparing to travel to compete in Paris later this month.
But on Thursday, World Aquatics said its top officials had been ordered to testify as witnesses in a U.S. criminal investigation into the cases of 23 Chinese swimmers.
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The Paris La Défense Arena in Nanterre, France, will host the swimming and water polo events at the upcoming Paris Olympics. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla)
Chinese swimmers won three gold medals at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. WADA said The swimmers’ positive tests were at least in part due to unintentional exposure to the substance through “contamination”.
The Chinese doping agency initially made a similar claim, but WADA said it was “not in a position to refute” it.
Several Chinese swimmers embroiled in doping scandal selected for Paris Olympics: Report
The decisions, taken separately by World Aquatics, were subsequently made public in April through reports in the New York Times and German broadcaster ARD.
On May 21, the House China Committee called on the Department of Justice and the FBI to investigate the case under a federal law that allows them to investigate alleged doping conspiracies even if they occur outside the United States.
A view of the Olympic swimming pool at the Paris La Defense Arena in Nanterre, a suburb of Paris, France. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla)
“World Aquatics can confirm that Executive Director Brent Nowicki has received a witness subpoena from the U.S. government,” the federation said in a statement to The Associated Press. “He has scheduled meetings with the government, which will likely eliminate the need for him to testify before a grand jury.”
Legendary American swimmer Michael Phelps testified before a congressional committee last month. The ongoing case was mentioned in the hearing, and Phelps said athletes have lost confidence in the World Anti-Doping Agency, the organization responsible for ridding sport of cheaters.
A WADA official declined to be invited to attend the hearing, saying it would be “inappropriate to become embroiled in a political debate before a U.S. congressional committee about a case in another country, particularly while an independent investigation into WADA’s handling of the case is ongoing.”
From left: Former Olympian Michael Phelps, U.S. Anti-Doping Agency CEO Travis Tygart and former Olympian Allison Schmidt are sworn in during a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations examining anti-doping measures for the 2024 Olympics on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on June 25. (AP Photo)
Travis Tygart, CEO of the United States Anti-Doping Agency, suggested to The Associated Press that because of the ongoing federal investigation, sports officials visiting the United States may “fear that they may have to answer questions from the FBI about their activities.”
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The United States is set to host the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028, the first time an American city will host the games since Atlanta in 1996.
Salt Lake City is scheduled to host the 2034 Winter Olympics.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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