Day: June 25, 2024

Washington — U.S. Olympic athletes have lost faith in the World Anti-Doping Agency to rid their sports of cheaters ahead of next month’s Summer Games in Paris, two former gold medalists said Tuesday in prepared testimony before a House subcommittee.

The comments by Michael Phelps and Allison Schmitt followed revelations that 23 Chinese swimmers had tested positive for a banned heart medication ahead of the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 but were allowed by WADA to compete. Five of those swimmers went on to win medals, including three golds.

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Phelps is the most decorated swimmer in history and a 23-time Olympic gold medalist. Schmitt, a four-time gold medalist, was part of the silver medal-winning U.S. 800-meter freestyle relay team that finished second to China at the Tokyo Games. Both the Chinese and U.S. teams broke the previous world record in the relay.

“We raced hard. We trained hard. We followed every protocol. We respected their performance and accepted our defeat,” Schmitt said. “But now, learning that the Chinese relay consisted of athletes who had not served a suspension, I look back with doubt. We may never know the truth and that may haunt many of us for years.”

Phelps expressed frustration that nothing had changed since he testified before the same subcommittee seven years ago about WADA’s handling of Russian state-sponsored doping.

“Sitting here once again, it is clear to me that any attempts of reform at WADA have fallen short, and there are still deeply rooted, systemic problems that prove detrimental to the integrity of international sports and athletes right to fair competition, time and time again,” Phelps said.

The global doping regulator accepted Chinese anti-doping officials’ conclusion that the 23 athletes had ingested the banned substance through contaminated food at a hotel. Independent anti-doping experts have questioned that finding, with U.S. Anti-Doping Agency CEO Travis Tygart calling it “outrageous.”

WADA said COVID-19 pandemic restrictions in China prevented an “on the ground probe” of the positive tests and concluded that it could not disprove Chinese authorities’ explanation.

In response to criticism, WADA appointed an independent investigator, Swiss prosecutor Eric Cottier, to review its handling of the China case. Cottier was appointed on April 25 and was expected to deliver his findings within two months. His appointment, too, angered critics who pointed out his potential conflicts of interest.

The United States contributes more funding to WADA than any other country, including nearly $3.7 million this year. China has given WADA $1.8 million more than its required dues since 2018, Tygart noted in his testimony.

Tygart called on the U.S. to condition its future funding of WADA on reforms at the agency.

The number of residents still unaccounted for has been shrinking significantly after thousands of people fled their homes as two fast-moving wildfires approached their village in southern New Mexico, Ruidoso Mayor Lynn Crawford said Tuesday.

Search and rescue crews have cleared more properties in the areas of Ruidoso, the mountain community hardest hit by the flames, and village officials and volunteers from the American Red Cross have been working through social media to list all those found to be “safe.”

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Just a few people remained on the list Tuesday as unaccounted for. They include those authorities have yet to make contact with and who have not been heard from by family and friends.

Crawford said during his regular radio address that he hoped to get the list down to zero.

“We feel good that we’re getting that number down … but we have to be sure,” he said.

About 1,000 firefighters were assigned to the fires in Ruidoso, as other crews were busy responding to reports of new fires around the region. In all, more than 100 new fires — most of them small — were reported in New Mexico and Arizona over the last seven days, according to the multiagency Southwest Coordination Center based in Albuquerque.

Federal officials have been working to streamline their response to major wildfires, starting with the deployment of complex incident management teams when there are significant threats to homes and infrastructure. That was the case with the fires in Ruidoso, which has a permanent population of about 8,000 and can triple during the summer months when tourists flood in.

Nationwide, more than a dozen large uncontained fires are currently burning, according to the National Interagecy Fire Center. Aside from the South Fork and Salt fires in Ruidoso, complex incident management teams are assigned to blazes in Washington and Colorado.

With more streets in Ruidoso being cleared by the special teams and their search dogs, village officials were able to open up more areas of the village on Tuesday. Some areas that have yet to be searched and spots where post-fire flooding remain a concern remained off limits.

Firefighters were helped over recent days by rainfall, cooler temperatures and high humidity levels. They have been focused on pockets of unburned fuel to ensure no flare-ups with drier weather expected over the next two days.

The fires were first reported June 17. Within hours, flames moved through tinder-dry parts of the Sacramento Mountains from Mescalero Apache tribal land toward Ruidoso. Evacuation orders included thousands of homes, businesses and the Ruidoso Downs horse track, prompting traffic jams as people dropped everything and fled.

About 40 square miles were charred before crews were able to corral the flames. At least two deaths have been confirmed, and an estimated 1,500 structures have been destroyed or damaged.

The FBI is investigating, offering up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrests and convictions of those responsible for the human-caused fires.

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Judge gives Trump RICO case co-defendant another opportunity to sue Fani Willis in her official capacity for allegedly violating Georgia open records laws  Law & Crime

Assange pleaded guilty to a felony charge of violating the espionage act. His court hearing was held in Saipan, in the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. commonwealth.

(Image credit: Chung Sung-Jun)

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