US at risk of losing both 2028 and 2034 Olympics, says former IOC member

The United States is at risk of losing both the 2028 Summer and 2034 Winter Olympics if American law enforcement overreaches in its investigation of Chinese swimmers, said former senior International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Dick Pound.

Any country wanting to compete in or stage an international sporting event must be compliant with the anti-doping code.

Pound, the Canadian lawyer who led the set up of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), believes the Rodchenkov Act the US is using to investigate the positive tests of 23 Chinese swimmers could disqualify it as an Olympic host.

The Rodchenkov Act legislation passed in 2020 extends US law enforcement jurisdiction to any international sporting competitions that involve American athletes or have financial connections to the United States.

"That legislation is non-compliant with the anti-doping code," Pound told Reuters on Tuesday. "My guess is that one of the steps that WADA is going to take at this point is to turn this particular issue over to the compliance review committee.

"Which I suspect, if or when there's a hearing on it, they will declare the United States non-compliant.

"It would mean they could not host the Olympics."

WADA had no comment when asked about taking the US to the non-compliant review committee but other anti-doping officials who did not want to be named confirmed the idea is being discussed.

WADA believes the Rodchenkov Act is national legislation not in harmony with the anti-doing code that allows US authorities to relitigate cases already decided.

With contracts signed and advance plans in place, stripping Los Angeles of the 2028 Olympics is unlikely.

Yet Pound told Reuters that the IOC might consider delaying the confirmation of Salt Lake City as host of the 2034 Winter Olympics.

Salt Lake is expected to be rubber-stamped as 2034 hosts during the IOC Congress next week ahead of the Paris Summer Games but Pound said Olympic chiefs could use the opportunity to send a message by delaying the confirmation.

"There's certainly an opportunity because apparently we have a session in Puerto Rico in November," said Pound. "An easy way to finesse that would be to say, well listen these would be Games in the Americas maybe that's the place we should make our announcement in Puerto Rico.

"If I were King of the mountain, I would call up (United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee chair) Gene Sykes and say, listen the drums are starting to beat here and it's this legislation that puts the US offside."

Reuters