Written by Amy Tenere
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The United States has withheld payments to the World Anti-Doping Agency for 2024, the White House Office of National Anti-Doping Policy told Reuters on Wednesday, calling for reforms to the World Anti-Doping Agency.
The move comes amid a long-running dispute between the United States and the World Anti-Doping Agency over the handling of a case involving 23 Chinese swimmers who were found to have failed drug tests weeks before the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 but were allowed to compete.
The office said it “has not yet decided whether to make payments to the World Anti-Doping Agency” that were due by December 31.
“The National Anti-Doping Office is evaluating all our options as we continue to pressure WADA to adopt common-sense reforms to restore confidence in the global anti-doping system and provide athletes with the full confidence they deserve,” WADA Director Rahul Gupta said in a statement.
“WADA must take concrete action to restore confidence in the global anti-doping system and give athletes the full confidence they deserve.”
Gupta began his term as a member of the 16-member WADA Executive Committee as the Americas representative of the General Body in April 2023, and his term was not scheduled to end until April 2026.
WADA did not comment directly on OFAC's statement and did not have an immediate response to OFAC's position that it had not yet decided whether to pay its bill.
The World Anti-Doping Agency said that unpaid dues amounted to $3.625 million.
A World Anti-Doping Agency spokesperson said the agency has set its 2025 operating budget at $57.5 million, adding that any member of the executive committee representing a country that fails to pay its annual contribution automatically loses their seat.
An investigator appointed by the World Anti-Doping Agency said in July that WADA had not mishandled the Chinese swimmers' case and confirmed those findings in September.
The US Anti-Doping Agency celebrated the National Doping Control Office's position, describing the position as “the only correct choice.”
“WADA’s current leaders have left the United States no other choice after failing to meet many very reasonable requests, such as an independent audit of WADA’s operations, to achieve the transparency and accountability needed to ensure that WADA is fit for purpose to protect athletes.” Travis Tygart, CEO of USAID, said in a statement:
