US investigating Chinese swimmers doping case

World Aquatics executive director Brent Nowicki has been subpoenaed by the U.S. government to testify in an investigation into how 23 Chinese swimmers avoided punishment after testing positive for banned drugs weeks ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.

A U.S. House of Representatives committee in May called on the Department of Justice (DOJ) to launch inquiries ahead of this year’s Paris Olympics into the doping case that has rocked the sport.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has come under increasing criticism and pressure to provide answers on how the those swimmers, some of whom went on to win gold medals in Tokyo, escaped punishment.

“World Aquatics can confirm that its Executive Director, Brent Nowicki, was served with a witness subpoena by the United States government,” World Aquatics said in a statement to Reuters.

“He is working to schedule a meeting with the government, which, in all likelihood, will obviate the need for testimony before a Grand Jury.”

The FBI, in a statement to Reuters on Friday, said it could not confirm or deny any investigation.

Representatives for the U.S. Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

WADA said it was aware of the investigation but had not been contacted by law enforcement and again defended its handling of the case.

“WADA reviewed the Chinese swimmer case file diligently, consulted with scientific and legal experts, and ultimately determined that it was in no position to challenge the contamination scenario, such that an appeal was not warranted,” said WADA in a statement.

“Guided by science and expert consultations, we stand by that good-faith determination in the face of the incomplete and misleading news reports on which this investigation appears to be based.”

The New York Times reported in April that the 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for trimetazidine (TMZ), a medication that increases blood flow to the heart and is used to treat angina.

The swimmers were cleared by a Chinese investigation which said they were inadvertently exposed to the drug through contamination.

An independent investigation of WADA’s handling of the case by Swiss prosecutor Eric Cottier could be published as early as next week.

RODCHENKOV ACT

Any DOJ investigation would fall under the Rodchenkov Act legislation passed in 2020 that extends U.S. law enforcement jurisdiction to any international sporting competitions that involve American athletes or have financial connections to the United States.

Named after Grigory Rodchenkov, a former Russian anti-doping laboratory head who turned whistleblower and helped expose Russia’s state-sponsored doping, the act criminalises doping schemes intended to influence sports events and allows U.S. prosecutors to seek prison terms of up to 10 years and fines of up to $1 million.