Los Angeles at risk of losing 2028 Olympics as anti-doping dispute escalates

The United States ' status as host of the 2028 and 2034 Olympics will be evaluated by the Independent Compliance Review Committee next month for alleged failure to comply with the anti-doping code.

This historic step from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has been taken against the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), accusing the USADA of taking a unilateral approach to anti-doping rules that could undermine them. There is a dispute between WADA and USADA over the case of 23 Chinese swimmers who tested positive for banned substances.

A joint investigation from The New York Times and German outlet ARD in April confirmed that several Chinese medalists at the Tokyo Games had tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine (TMZ), categorized as a "hormone and metabolic modulator," before the event. WADA confirmed these positive results but accepted the findings of an internal Chinese anti-doping agency investigation that found trace amounts of TMZ in the kitchen of a team hotel.

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USADA harshly criticized WADA's ruling, describing it as a "devastating stab in the back to clean athletes," and accused the world agency of covering up the case - WADA claimed it could not complete on-the-ground investigations in China due to the nation's strict COVID-19 regulations. In May, the Department of Justice was advised to take up the matter by a U.S. House of Representatives Committee, with the controversial Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act allowing American authorities to prosecute foreign competitors found to use performance-enhancing drugs in events with U.S athletes.

“First we have heard about it and if accurate, WADA is continuing the retaliation on those asking for answers from them for allowing China to sweep 23 positive cases under the rug,” Travis Tygart, the CEO of USADA, said in the statement. "They’re [WADA] running scared instead of being transparent and I guess we will see how independent the CRC is or is not. The whole system is crumbling under this WADA leadership and clean athletes deserve better.”

However, a statement from WADA last month accused U.S. officials of "politicizing" a relatively straightforward process and using this alleged cheating as a red herring for USADA's internal failings. The global agency noted that just 7,773 samples from 3,011 American athletes had been collected in 2023, far lower than the figures of peer nations.

"It is quite a disappointing result, considering the country's population, high number of athletes and size of their Olympic team," read WADA's statement. "With twice the budget, USADA collects less than half the number of samples as its counterpart in Germany. The French NADO also collects significantly more samples than USADA with a little more than one-third of the budget.

"Yet, to distract from its own failings, USADA tries to undermine U.S. athletes’ confidence in the integrity of their rivals overseas. One wonders how USADA uses its annual budget of more than USD 31 million, apart from hiring lobbyists and spending its valuable time attacking WADA and weakening the global anti-doping system."

The United States is currently set to host the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and the 2034 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. However, should the United States by ruled in violation of the anti-doping code, they would be ineligible to host these competitions.