WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Chair of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Technology, and Data Privacy led a hearing to hold the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accountable following the organization’s refusal to investigate Chinese swimmers testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs before the Tokyo Olympics.

Senator Blackburn asked former Olympic swimmer Katie McLaughlin about the bombshell reporting that revealed top Chinese swimmers tested positive for a banned drug and then went on to win Olympic Gold medals ahead of American athletes. Senator Blackburn also spoke with Travis Tygart, Chief Executive Officer of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, on why it is completely implausible that Chinese Olympic swimmers were unwittingly contaminated.

Click here to download video of Senator Blackburn’s remarks during the Senate Commerce Subcommittee hearing.

On Chinese Doping Scandal’s Impact on Olympic Athletes:

Blackburn: “Miss McLaughlin, I want to come to you first. Talk to me a minute about how it made you feel when you read the New York Times expose, and you felt like it was confirmed to you that you had been beat because somebody was a cheater, and here you were putting your heart and soul into your training, and you get to that moment to get that medal, and it's not there because somebody cheated you out of it.”

McLaughlin: “Yeah, thank you for your question. It was devastating, honestly. I remember getting the call from USADA letting me know that the New York Times article was going to break, and I was just so taken aback and heartbroken, and I think I spent a lot of my career trusting in the powers that be, and it was really sad to find out that that's not someone who could be trusted, meaning WADA. I think a lot of my teammates and I were just pretty let down, and I think, you know, at the end of the day, all I can control was myself and my own race, and my teammates could only control their part of the race, so that's something to kind of hold on to. But I think, just pretty devastating, heartbreaking all around, but thank you.”

On Why It Is Completely Implausible That Chinese Swimmers Were Unwittingly Contaminated

Blackburn: “Mr. Tygart, as we've mentioned before, as soon as the allegations came to light, I got a letter out to WADA demanding to know why they felt like they could ignore this doping, and their answer back to me was insufficient, and of course, they blame everyone but themselves, which is not a surprise to us. And they even said that there was no basis to challenge that contamination and that the source was TMZ. And so there you go. We find out, of course, that they have lied about this, and I know you've reviewed their response. I want you to just talk for a minute about why it is completely implausible that the Chinese swimmers were unwittingly contaminated.”

Tygart: “WADA did no investigation, just blindly accepted the factual scenario that was provided by the Chinese. And in fact, months before these positive tests showed up on their desk, they had interviewed a defector, a whistleblower from China, who had indicated to them that TMZ was being given in a systemic fashion to athletes, but yet, WADA leaders never brought in their independent investigative unit. They have a 16 person, very experienced investigative unit. They were not involved at all with investigating the facts of this case. TMZ is a prescription medication in some countries, it does not just show up in the kitchen. It's unbelievable to think that, you know, Tinker Bell showed up and sprinkled it within the kitchen…”

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