Senators Assail Antidoping Regulator for ‘Stonewalling and Intimidation'

New York Times

6 hours ago

Senators from both parties on Tuesday sharply criticized the global antidoping regulator responsible for ensuring clean competition at the Olympics, saying it had continued to cover up positive tests for banned substances by two dozen elite Chinese swimmers, including medal winners at the last two Summer Games.
At a hearing before a subcommittee of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, Democratic and Republican lawmakers also signaled their support for the decisions by the Biden and Trump administrations to withhold key funding from the World Anti-Doping Agency, or WADA, over its handling of the positive tests.
The senators said they supported new legislation that would give the president even more authority to withhold American funding for the regulator.
'All that they have provided are threats, stonewalling and intimidation,' said Senator Marsha Blackburn, Republican of Tennessee and the subcommittee's chair, adding that lawmakers would 'not be threatened or silenced for promoting fair play and advocating for clean sport.'
Tuesday's hearing was the second one the Senate has held on how the positive tests were handled, after The New York Times disclosed their existence in April 2024. The Times reported that in early 2021, nearly two dozen elite Chinese swimmers tested positive for low levels of a banned prescription heart medication that makes it easier for athletes to recover.
At the time, Chinese authorities blamed a contaminated hotel kitchen where the athletes ate, even though they were never able to explain how or why the prescription heart medication made its way into the kitchen. The World Anti-Doping Agency, which is supposed to serve as a backstop when countries fail to properly discipline their athletes, did not sanction the swimmers.
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