U.S. Olympic athlete Michael Phelps on Tuesday said athletic competitions are not free of cheating while he testified on doping before a House committee.
“Mr. Phelps, has the problem of doping in sports been cleaned up where you can tell your sons that athletic competitions are fair and clean of cheating?” Rep. Cathy Rodgers (R-WA) asked at a hearing with the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation.
“No,” Phelps responded.
“From your standpoint, what is preventing competitions from being fair and free of illegal performance enhancing drugs?” Rodgers asked.
Phelps described the strict monitoring that athletes are subjected to and suggested there was not “a level playing field” and a “lack of rule-following across the board.”
“I want to be able to stand up to the block with somebody next to me and be like, 'All right, cool, this is me versus you.' It's not me versus you and seven other drugs.
The hearing followed revelations earlier this spring that the World Anti-Doping Agency allowed 23 Chinese swimmers to compete after they had tested positive for a banned heart medication ahead of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Five of those swimmers went on to win medals, including three golds.
