Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time, says the World Anti-Doping Agency cannot be trusted to enforce its policies.
The 38-year-old, a winner of 28 swimming medals across five Games, criticised the organisation following China’s selection of swimmers caught in a doping scandal for this summer’s Olympics in Paris.
Wada confirmed in April that 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for trimetazidine – a banned drug found in heart medication – before competing at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
But Wada accepted the Chinese anti-doping agency’s findings that the swimmers were inadvertently exposed to the drug through contamination, clearing them to compete in Paris.
“It is clear to me that any attempts of reform at Wada have fallen short, and there are still deeply rooted systemic problems that prove detrimental to the integrity of international sports and athletes right to fair competition, time and time again,” said Phelps.
“As athletes, our faith can no longer be blindly placed in the World Anti-Doping Agency, an organisation that continuously proves that it is either incapable or unwilling to enforce its policies consistently around the world.”
The American was speaking at a congressional hearing established to examine the anti-doping measures in place ahead of the 2024 Olympics, at which Wada declined to testify.
Travis Tygart, the United States Anti-Doping Agency (Usada) chief executive, advised the commission to reconsider its funding of Wada – which equates to £2.9m a year.
In response, Wada president Witold Banka criticised Usada for “politicising” the case.
“The hearing sought to further politicise a relatively straightforward case of mass contamination that has been turned into a scandal by a small number of individuals, mainly in the United States,” said Banka.
“It was another example of the World Anti-Doping Agency being dragged into a much broader struggle between two superpowers. As an independent and largely technical organisation, Wada has no mandate to be part of those political debates.”
