Michael Phelps among five expected to testify about anti-doping
Michael Phelps will be among five people testifying about anti-doping before a congressional subcommittee next week.
The Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, which is part of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, will hold a hearing, “Ways to Improve and Strengthen the Anti-Doping System,” on Tuesday morning.
Among others expected to testify are: Travis Tygart, CEO of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency; Richard Budgett, medical and scientific director for the International Olympic Committee; Rob Koehler, deputy director general of the World Anti-Doping Agency; and Adam Nelson, American shot putter and Olympic gold medalist.
"For centuries, the Olympic Games have been a source of inspiration and pride, bringing nations and cultures together in the spirit of competition. In recent years, however, the specter of doping has reemerged, tarnishing the image of the games and raising new questions about the fairness of international sport,” Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Tim Murphy (R-Pa.) and Ranking Member Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) said in a joint statement.
“Next week’s hearing marks an important conversation with some key players to examine the international anti-doping system and identify ways we can strengthen it to ensure clean, competitive sport.”
Phelps retired after the Rio Olympics as the most decorated Olympian of all time, winning 28 medals in five Games.
Nelson received his shot put gold medal from the 2004 Olympics more than a decade after those Games. He initially was awarded the silver medal but received gold after Ukraine's Yuriy Bilonoh was stripped of his title for a doping violation in 2013.
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While the Russian doping scandal that has loomed over international sport for more than two years will serve as a highlight of flaws, the subcommittee is expected to seek an update on the current status of the anti-doping system, as well as what can be done to improve it.
Two investigations commissioned by WADA revealed widespread doping in Russian sport, with the Russian Anti-Doping Agency, top sport officials and even the Federal Security Service working over years to subvert anti-doping controls.
The findings led the International Association of Athletics Federations to ban the Russian team from the Rio Olympics, one that remains in effect and is expected to extend through this year’s world championships.
WADA declared RUSADA non-compliant with the world anti-doping code, a designation that remains in effect as the agency is working to come into compliance by November.
The United States government is expected to contribute $2,155,051 to WADA’s annual budget in 2017, according to a financial document it published earlier this month. That’s the most of any individual country, with Japan and Canada as the only other countries to contribute more than $1 million.
The IOC is expected to match the $14,862,420 provided by governments worldwide.
In a letter sent to the IOC in July in advance of the Rio Olympics, the Committee on Energy and Commerce noted strides made to eradicate doping in sport but noted that “major challenges remain.” That includes concerns about conflicts of interest in WADA’s governance as well as delayed response to whistleblowers’ allegations of state-sponsored doping.
“If these and other concerns are not effectively addressed, WADA’s purpose and the confidence placed in it by clean athletes and their supporters around the world could be seriously undermined,” the committee wrote.
