Olympic gold medalist Katie Ledecky spoke out about doping in sports and said faith in the anti-doping system is at an “all-time low,” according to CBS.
Ledecky spoke in an interview with “CBS News Sunday Morning” that will air this weekend, according to multiple news outlets.
In the wake of how anti-doping organizations dealt with a recent case involving several swimmers from China, some who could end up swimming in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“It’s hard going into Paris knowing that we’re going to be racing some of these athletes,” Ledecky said. “And I think our faith in some of the systems is at an all-time low.”
Ledecky, among her medal haul in Tokyo, won a silver medal in the 4×200 freestyle relay that was won by China.
The New York Times reported last month that 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for a performance-enhancing substance leading up to the Tokyo Olympics, but were allowed to compete after China’s anti-doping organziation determined the substance came through contamination.
The World Anti-Doping Agency did not fight the Chinese on this determination, according to multiple reports.
All of this led to an outcry on the lack of transparency regarding what happened and why such determinations were made.
“I’d like to see some accountability here,” Katie Ledecky told CBS. “I’d like to see some answers as to why this happened the way it did. And I’d really like to see that steps are taken for the future so that we can regain some confidence in the global system.
“I think the whole case has to be reexamined independently and thoroughly, and all the information needs to be out there.”
I entirely agree with her,as I’m sure most Western athletes do. From the systematic doping of East Germany to the currently barred Russian athletes its obvious that China should be included.
The double standards by WADA are unacceptable. The specious nonsense from China that nearly two dozen swimmers were all simultaneously accidentally contaminated with a banned heart medication from a hotel kitchen defies credibility! None implicated should be at Paris.
Its a travesty to the decent, Clean and hard working athletes that are forced to compete against their ‘enhanced’ competitors!