Olympians to testify at anti-doping hearing

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – Tuesday night Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps appears on Capitol Hill during a primetime hearing on anti-doping efforts ahead of the Paris Olympics.

A lot of this has to do with recent accusations of illegal doping by Chinese athletes.

It’s a rare evening hearing designed to get more public attention.

Phelps will be joined by fellow Olympian Allison Schmitt and the CEO of the U.S. anti-doping agency.

The focus will be on reports that Chinese athletes who tested positive for banned substances were allowed to compete in the 2021 Olympics.

Chinese authorities say those positive tests were the result of contaminated testing samples.

The world anti-doping agency didn’t question Chinese officials handling of the case and did not to challenge the results.

The organization also declined to show up at Tuesday’s hearing despite an invitation by Congress.

That decision has been blasted by U.S. lawmakers who accuse the world anti-doping agency of turning a blind eye to China breaking the rules.

“They sat by and said nothing when 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for a substance known as tmz, a performance enhancing drug, in the last Olympics,” said Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.)

The hearing is expected to get underway at 7 p.m.ET.

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