(Washington) American swimming legend Michael Phelps and four-time American gold medalist Allison Schmitt on Tuesday called for reform of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) over its handling of the 2021 Chinese swimming doping scandal.

“I urge Congress to use its considerable influence over the AMA to make the organization independent and effective. It cannot be a coincidence that WADA has once again succumbed to pressures from international sport to do what is expedient at the expense of the athlete,” Phelps told an Oversight and Investigations subcommittee of the American Congress in Washington.

In April, the New York Times and German broadcaster ARD reported that 23 Chinese swimmers had tested positive in 2021 for the performance-enhancing substance trimetazidine.

None of the 23 swimmers were suspended or sanctioned, with WADA accepting the Chinese authorities’ explanation that the results were due to food contamination at a hotel where they had stayed.

Several of these athletes then won medals at the Tokyo Olympics. And 11 are among the swimmers selected for the 2024 Olympics (July 26–August 11).

The 38-year-old swimmer with 23 Olympic gold medals compared the current situation to that of 2017, when he already called for WADA reforms after the 2014 Russian doping scandal.

“It is clear that all attempts to reform WADA have failed, and that there are still deep-seated systemic problems that prove detrimental to the integrity of international sport and the right of athletes to fair competition », Estimated the American.

“As athletes, we can no longer blindly trust the World Anti-Doping Agency, which continually demonstrates that it is incapable or unwilling to enforce its policies consistently around the world,” he said. he continued.

Schmitt, 34, was a member of the American 4x200m freestyle relay team that won the silver medal in Tokyo, behind China.

Although she had heard “rumors of doping by the Chinese team” throughout her career, she initially had no reason to believe them.

“But today, upon learning that the Chinese relay was made up of athletes who had not served a suspension, I have doubts,” she regretted.

“I am pleading, on behalf of American athletes, for accountability from WADA and the global anti-doping system,” added the swimmer.