The International Swimming Federation has announced that its executive director, Brent Nowicki, has been subpoenaed to testify as a witness in a U.S. criminal investigation related to the case of 23 Chinese swimmers who tested positive for a banned substance in 2021. Despite the positive tests, the swimmers were allowed to continue competing. Eleven of these swimmers are set to compete in the upcoming Paris Olympics, just three weeks away.
The House Committee on China requested the Justice Department and the FBI to investigate the case under a federal law that allows investigations into suspected doping conspiracies, even if they occurred outside the U.S. World Aquatics, the governing body of swimming, confirmed that its top administrator had been served a witness subpoena by the U.S. government as part of the investigation.
Nowicki is working to schedule a meeting with the government, which may eliminate the need for him to testify before a Grand Jury. World Aquatics did not provide details about where and when Nowicki was served his subpoena or which office is handling the investigation. The FBI has not yet commented on the matter.
The swimmers who tested positive for a banned heart medication were allowed to compete in the previous Olympics in Tokyo under the explanation of food contamination by Chinese officials. The World Anti-Doping Agency accepted this explanation and defended their handling of the case. The positive tests did not become publicly known until earlier this year when they were reported by the New York Times and German broadcaster ARD.
This case highlights concerns about doping in international sports events and raises questions about how governments should respond to such incidents.
The International Swimming Federation (FINA) has denied any wrongdoing in allowing 23 Chinese swimmers who tested positive for banned substances to compete in international competitions, including at last year’s Tokyo Olympics.
FINA President Jin Zhuang said that FINA follows strict rules against doping and does not condone cheating.
“We have no tolerance for doping,” he said in an interview with CNN.
However, critics argue that FINA’s policies on doping are too lenient and do not adequately protect clean athletes from cheating.
