WADA President welcomes support for clean sport mission from the International Olympic Committee and U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee

Today, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) President, Witold Bańka, welcomed the strong and unequivocal support for WADA and its clean sport mission that was provided by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC), the local organizing committee of Salt Lake City 2034 and the Governor of the U.S. state of Utah, at today’s 142nd IOC Session, held in Paris, France, in advance of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games (Paris 2024).  

At the meeting, IOC members voted to grant the hosting rights for the 2034 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games to Salt Lake City, Utah, after an amendment to the relevant host agreement included a commitment by the organizers that they would support WADA and the harmonized global anti-doping system. The provision makes it clear that the hosting rights for Salt Lake City 2034 can be terminated “in cases where the supreme authority of the World Anti-Doping Agency in the fight against doping is not fully respected or if the application of the World Anti-Doping Code is hindered or undermined”. 

Mr. Banka said: “I welcome the full support provided today by the IOC, the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee and the Salt Lake City 2034 organizing committee to WADA and our clean sport mission. Following concerns expressed by many within the global anti-doping community about the politization of anti-doping within the U.S., it is very encouraging to hear their stated commitment to WADA and willingness to help strengthen the American anti-doping system, in particular for young athletes coming through the college system and for the professional leagues. WADA stands ready to support them every step of the way for the good of athletes in the U.S. and everywhere.” 

While many elite U.S. athletes, including those in Paris this week, do compete under the protection of the World Anti-Doping Code, many under the professional leagues and coming through the college system do not. In recent weeks, a large number of national and international anti-doping and sporting groups from around the world, including the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) and the Winter Olympic Federations (WOF), have raised concerns about this and have criticized attempts by the U.S. to politicize the clean sport movement as led by WADA. 

Addressing day two of the IOC Summit, Chair of the USOPC, Gene Sykes, President and CEO of the SLC 2034 organizing committee, Fraser Bullock, and the Governor of Utah, Spencer Cox, all provided their assurances that they supported the work of WADA through the World Anti-Doping Code and committed to do everything possible to allay fears expressed by the international sporting and anti-doping communities about the anti-doping system in the U.S. Several IOC members also stressed their strong support for WADA and decried the politically motivated criticisms that have originated in the U.S.  

Mr. Bańka also addressed the IOC Session to brief IOC members on WADA’s activities, in particular as they relate to preparations for the Games. He highlighted WADA’s work carried out in collaboration with the International Testing Agency (ITA) and the global anti-doping community to ensure all athletes likely to participate in Paris are properly prepared in advance of the competition. In October 2023, the ITA launched its global Pre-Games anti-doping program, which included the creation of a pre-Games Expert Group that addressed potential gaps and issued testing recommendations to all relevant Anti-Doping Organizations (ADOs) around the world. Notably, between the beginning of March and the end of June 2024, 87,000 samples were collected by 191 ADOs from athletes competing in summer Olympic sports. 

Mr. Bańka also provided an update on the issue of the 2021 no-fault contamination cases involving 23 swimmers from China and related matters. He reaffirmed WADA’s position, which was substantiated by Independent Prosecutor, Mr. Eric Cottier, in his interim report published on 9 July, which concluded that WADA showed no bias towards China and that its decision not to appeal the cases was reasonable based on the evidence.  

To read Mr. Bańka’s speech, please click here. 

To view the Day two of the IOC session and Mr. Bańka delivering his speech, please click here.