PARIS: The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee chief (USOPC) on Thursday urged the warring American and world anti-doping bodies to work together while assuring Olympic officials they will support the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) as the supreme anti-doping authority.

The USOPC, along with the 2028 Los Angeles and 2034 Salt Lake City Olympic host committees have been caught in the crossfire in an increasingly bitter feud between Wada and the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), who were shown the red card by Olympic officials.

The International Olympic Committee has issued a stern warning to US sports officials: support Wada as the global leader in the fight against doping or risk losing the Games.

The IOC awarded Salt Lake City the 2034 Winter Games on Wednesday but said in an amendment in the host city contract that it could terminate the Olympic host contract “in cases where the supreme authority of Wada in the fight against doping is not fully respected or if the application of the anti-doping code is hindered or undermined.”

“I’ll say this as clearly as I can — we accept, we support, we subscribe to the world anti-doping code,” USOPC board chair Gene Sykes told reporters. “What we want to do is to cool the tempers and find a way for these organisations to constructively work better together, and that’s our responsibility.

“That amendment is actually something we think we’ll never have come into play. The amendment is only an amendment that allows the IOC to have an escape clause if the United States somehow undermines it with the world anti-doping code. We’re not going to do that, we’re going to try to make it stronger.”

USADA has been a vocal critic of Wada over the past decade.

Tensions spiked this year after reports in April said 23 Chinese swimmers had tested positive for a banned substance ahead of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, but were cleared to compete at the Games.

US anti-doping chief Travis Tygart has consistently accused Wada of covering up the cases, which China blamed on unintentional food contamination.

Eleven of the 23 Chinese swimmers are in Paris.

Sykes said the dispute between the two agencies had arisen due to Wada feeling “threatened” by criticism by USADA and the body’s outspoken chief Travis Tygart.

“As soon as one side comes out with a statement, the other side comes out with a statement,” Sykes said. “They have not been shy about throwing rocks at each other.”

Wada president Witold Banka, who has made strongly worded criticisms of USADA and Tygart, rejected the suggestion that he had been too “dramatic” in his responses.

“Everything that I said about the US anti-doping system and the role of USADA I did in a very calm way,” he said in a separate press conference. “Our expectations to our stakeholders are to follow the rules. Our role is to make sure that our stakeholders are following our regulations, rules and have national legislation in accordance with our world anti-doping code.”

Banka was asked whether he would be willing to sit down with Tygart and discuss their differences.

“We are always very open for collaboration, and it’s obvious that they are one of our stakeholders,” he said. “But of course, in the current situation, after all these defamatory comments, allegations, really I have to say, statements which are totally against of the principle of collaboration, it’s a very difficult situation and the relations are tough,” he added.

Published in Dawn, July 26th, 2024