Justice Department Opens Criminal Investigation in Chinese Doping Case
The move escalates a fight with China and world antidoping officials, and will cast a shadow of criminality over the Paris Olympics.
The move escalates a fight with China and world antidoping officials, and will cast a shadow of criminality over the Paris Olympics.
Three athletes who failed drug tests before the 2021 Olympics had tested positive for a powerful steroid several years earlier. They were not suspended in either incident.
Concerns are growing that the body whose job is keeping sports free of illegal drugs is failing at that mission, leading Congress to question U.S. support.
The decision to review the handling of positive tests collected from 23 swimmers came after an outcry from athletes and antidoping regulators.
The administration’s top drug official, Rahul Gupta, said he would bring up the handling of Chinese swimmers’ positive tests at a meeting of sports officials this week.
An American who won silver in Tokyo calls for an investigation. A British gold medalist demands bans. But the most bitter fight was between antidoping leaders.
The short answer may be nothing. The world’s top doping regulator said there was “no credible evidence” to take further action.
A doping case involving Olympic swimmers has left unanswered questions and raised new concerns about the actions of a global antidoping regulator.
The case, involving multiple swimmers who seven months later won medals at the 2021 Games, prompted accusations of a cover-up and concerns over why antidoping regulators chose not to intervene.
“We will be attacked,” the official responsible for fending off cyberthreats said. To prepare, organizers have been hosting war games and paying “bug bounties” to hackers.