Several members of the Chinese national swimming team remain embroiled in a doping scandal.
The swimmers in question have been under fire since testing positive for the banned heart drug trimetazidine in 2021.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) ultimately gave the go-ahead to the athletes to compete in the Tokyo Olympics.
Last month, the Chinese Swimming Association selected some of those athletes for its 2024 Olympic team. The swimmers are preparing to travel to Paris to compete later this month.
But on Thursday, World Aquatics revealed that its top officials had been ordered to testify as witnesses in a US criminal investigation into the case of the 23 Chinese swimmers.
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The Arena Paris La Defense in Nanterre, France, will host swimming events and some water polo events during the upcoming Paris Olympics. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla)
Chinese swimmers won three gold medals at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, just weeks after WADA said The swimmers' positive test results were due, at least in part, to inadvertent exposure to the substance through “contamination.”
The Chinese Anti-Doping Agency initially made a similar argument, to which WADA responded that it was “not in a position to refute”.
Several Chinese swimmers involved in doping scandal selected for Paris Olympics: report
These decisions, which World Aquatics also reached separately, were later made public in April through reports by The New York Times and German broadcaster ARD.
On May 21, a House committee on China asked the Justice Department and FBI to investigate the case under a federal law that allows investigations into suspected doping conspiracies even if they occurred outside the United States.
A view of the Olympic swimming pool at the Arena Paris La Defense in Nanterre, France, just outside Paris. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla)
“World Aquatics can confirm that its CEO, Brent Nowicki, has received a subpoena for witnesses from the U.S. government,” the federation said in a statement to The Associated Press. “It is working to schedule a meeting with the government, which will, in all likelihood, avoid the need for grand jury testimony.”
Legendary American swimmer Michael Phelps testified before a congressional committee last month. The ongoing case was mentioned during the hearing and Phelps said athletes have lost faith in WADA as the global watchdog responsible for keeping cheaters out of the sport.
WADA officials declined an invitation to attend the hearing, saying it would be “inappropriate to become involved in a political debate before a U.S. congressional committee over a case from a different country, especially while an independent review of WADA's handling of the case is underway.”
From left: Former Olympian Michael Phelps, U.S. Anti-Doping Agency CEO Travis Tygart and former Olympian Allison Schmitt are sworn in during a House Energy and Commerce Committee Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing examining anti-doping measures ahead of the 2024 Olympic Games on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on June 25. (AP Photo)
Travis Tygart, executive director of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, suggested to the AP that an ongoing federal investigation could make sports officials traveling to the United States “fearful of having to answer questions from the FBI about their activities.”
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The United States will host the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles. It will be the first time the Summer Games have been held in an American city since Atlanta hosted the 1996 Olympics.
Salt Lake City is scheduled to host the 2034 Winter Games.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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