Olympic officials try to crush U.S. probes of China doping, threaten SLC Games
npr.orgThe proximal cause of the demand goes unmentioned in the NPR story. From NYT (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/24/world/olympics/salt-lake-...):
> [FBI] agents working on that investigation tried to question a top swimming official when he was in the United States last month for the U.S. Olympic trials, triggering alarms in global sports circles about the potential legal risks from the inquiries.
> In response, WADA officials have moved a meeting scheduled to be held in the United States later this year to Canada, ensuring that its officials cannot be questioned by the American authorities ...
That's what happenes when you mix sport with politics.
Why should we care about the Olympic Games? It is a huge expense and has no convincing positive return. Meanwhile local residents have their lives disrupted for weeks and months and gain nothing much from it. No thanks. Keep the probe going, call their bluff, and let them collapse into obscurity like beauty pageants.
I agree on calling the bluff. They should, what will the IOC/WADA do? Cancel it? Try to find another sucker with a short notice? But SLC isn't a bad place for a winter Olympics, they hosted it before not long ago and some of the national team facilities are there using things built for the 2002 Olympics. Of course, many more people live there now.
Double down. Tell all competitors that USADA will be handling drug testing for any Olympic event held in the US and if there's any pushback, we won't grant a travel visa for it. WADA and the Olympic Committee can figure it out on their own.
That seems to be one of the rare historical events where the USA seem to be the good guys. It's just the USADA (Tygart) though. The US teams will still dope as much as they will not be caught.
Looks like athletes can't wait for Peter Thiel's Enhanced Games