Michael Phelps has had enough and has doubled down on his support for tougher sanctions for doping.
The World Anti-Doping Agency and World Aquatics have acknowledged that 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for a banned substance before the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, but the results were not made public until media reports surfaced in 2024.
The Chinese explanation of tainted food was accepted as a reason for the positive tests.
Nine of those swimmers ended up winning medals, with many as part of relay teams in Paris.
Michael Phelps reiterated his sentiments when he stated the Chinese swimmers who tested positive should not have been allowed to compete in Tokyo, Paris, or anywhere else.
“If you test positive, you should never be allowed to come back and compete again, cut and dry,” Phelps said. “I believe one and done,” he said, per The AP.
Phelps continued: “If everybody is not going through that same testing, I have a serious problem because it means the level of sport is not fair, and it’s not even,” he said. “If you’re taking that risk, then you don’t belong in here.”
Phelps also talked about when he was at his peak, and many accused him of doping, so he took it a step further and did even more testing.
“People called me a cheater throughout my career,” he said on Monday. “I subjected myself to do more testing – blood and urine – weekly. Why? For the reason that I could say I’m not cheating and I am clean and here are the results. I did it the clean way. I won 23 Olympic gold medals the clean way. It can be done.”
Since retiring from the sport after the 2016 Olympics, Phelps has become more outspoken about anti-doping issues.
“What has to happen is everybody has to come together and figure out one way to test everybody all over the world. Period,” Phelps said. “And if you test positive, you should never be allowed to come back and compete again.”
In conclusion, Phelps said he understands the frustration of athletes who pour in so much work only to lose medals to a person or team who may be cheating.
“It does break my heart to see people put hard effort into four straight years to prepare for an Olympic Games, then to have it taken away from them by somebody who is cheating,” Phelps said. “It’s not right. I stand for that, and I will always stand for that.”
Michael Phelps Believes Competitors Were Cheating During His Time In The Pool
Michael Phelps never cheated to accomplish his goals, so when news of 23 Chinese swimmers testing positive came out, he took a strong stance on it.
He even took it further when he stated some competitors were doping during his five Olympics, in which he won 28 medals overall.
“I don’t think I ever competed in an even playing field or a clean field,” he said. “I have some speculations of some athletes that I competed against that I thought they were [doping]. But that’s out of my control.”
