Phelps says WADA Cannot Be Trusted After Doping Scandal

Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time, says the World Anti-Doping Agency cannot be trusted to enforce its policies.

The 38-year-old, a winner of 28 swimming medals across five Games, criticised the organisation following China’s selection of swimmers caught in a doping scandal for this summer’s Olympics in Paris.

Wada confirmed in April that 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for trimetazidine – a banned drug found in heart medication – before competing at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

But Wada accepted the Chinese anti-doping agency’s findings that the swimmers were inadvertently exposed to the drug through contamination, clearing them to compete in Paris.

The American was speaking at a congressional hearing established to examine the anti-doping measures in place ahead of the 2024 Olympics, at which Wada declined to testify.

Travis Tygart, the United States Anti-Doping Agency chief executive, advised the commission to reconsider its funding of Wada – which equates to 2point-9 million pounds a year.

In response, Wada president Witold Banka criticised Usada for “politicising” the case.