Olympic Host Contracts at Risk Amid US-WADA Feud

The US Olympic & Paralympic Committee Chief urged US and world anti-doping bodies to reconcile and support WADA as the supreme authority. The ongoing dispute between WADA and USADA may jeopardize the US hosting the 2028 and 2034 Olympics, with the IOC warning of contract termination if compliance is not ensured.

The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee chief on Thursday urged the warring American and world anti-doping bodies to work together while assuring Olympic officials they will support WADA as the supreme anti-doping authority. The USOPC, along with the 2028 Los Angeles and 2034 Salt Lake City Olympic host committees have been caught in the crossfire in an increasingly bitter feud between the World Anti-Doping Agency and the United States Anti-Doping Agency, who were shown the red card by Olympic officials.

The International Olympic Committee has issued a stern warning to U.S. sports officials: support WADA as the global leader in the fight against doping or risk losing the Games. The IOC awarded Salt Lake City the 2034 Winter Games on Wednesday but said in an amendment in the host city contract that it could terminate the Olympic host contract "in cases where the supreme authority of WADA in the fight against doping is not fully respected or if the application of the anti-doping code is hindered or undermined."

"I'll say this as clearly as I can - we accept, we support, we subscribe to the world anti-doping code," USOPC board chair Gene Sykes told reporters. "What we want to do is to cool the tempers and find a way for these organisations to constructively work better together, and that's our responsibility.

The amendment is only an amendment that allows the IOC to have an escape clause if the United States somehow undermines it with the world anti-doping code. We're not going to do that, we're going to try to make it stronger."

(With inputs from agencies.)