Some former Olympians with ties to Utah are thrilled that the Winter Games are returning to the state in 2034. They also have thoughts on the World Anti-Doping Agency and the International Olympic Committee making Utah’s host spot conditional.
In the final hour, the IOC added a provision to the contract that said Utah could potentially lose the games if the United States attempted to undermine WADA. The move comes after The U.S. Department of Justice opened an investigation into a doping scandal involving Chinese Olympic swimmers and WADA’s decision to accept China’s explanation for positive drug tests ahead of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
Former alpine skier Dustin Cook, who competed in the 2018 Olympics for Canada and now lives in Salt Lake City, was elated to learn Utah would host again. It was welcome news because he’s a proponent of the Games being in “places that have already held them because we have the facilities and you don't need to build them up again.”
The last-minute addition to the contract, however, “definitely sounds super shady to me,” he said.
“I think if WADA is actually doing its job, and they're confident that with the process that they went through to confirm that these Chinese athletes didn't dope was accurate, then they shouldn't really have any worry about the U.S. investigating them.”
Cook said he’s “really not a fan of WADA” in general because of how they operate and how they “kind of just favor some nations over others.” Anti-doping needs to be enforced, he added, but he isn’t confident they can uphold that end of the bargain.
“When you have the governing body of anti-doping in the entire world having backdoor, or now front door deals with countries, like it's already happened with Russia, and now it's happening with China, [it] just doesn't really leave a lot of room for faith in the system,” Cook noted.
He thinks Utah’s hands were tied and they had no option but to sign. However, he isn’t sure how much weight the contract holds because the IOC and WADA “don't actually have any power over U.S. legislation or what's going to happen” with the investigation.
Steven Nyman, a four-time Olympic alpine skier from Provo, has different feelings about the situation. A lot of countries, even America, he said, have been guilty of doping before. Quid pro quo deals “happen all the time with these big organizations.”
“It's unfortunate that things go down like this. Why can't the best place be rewarded the Olympics? I mean, it’s politics.”
He also said doping is prevalent in professional sports and WADA’s role in catching people cheating at their craft is critical.
“People will dope to win the Olympics because that's where you get the money, if you're on the podium. But you don't get the money if you're not on the podium.”
However, he thinks WADA could be more aggressive with its oversight of testing. The way things operate now, he said, is “archaic” and gives athletes open opportunities to avoid getting caught.
Overall, Nyman trusts WADA and believes the integrity of the games is a top priority of the agency.
For Utah County resident Chris Fogt, a three-time Olympian who won the silver in bobsledding in 2014, the quick addition to the contact was more for the IOC than it was targeted toward the U.S. for investigating WADA. Since the news broke about WADA’s awareness of the positive drug tests, Fogt said the agency’s reputation has been “a little bit tarnished.”
“This was just the IOC reaffirming their commitment to WADA and making sure that it is a focal point for the games,” said Fogt, who is also the head coach of the U.S. bobsled team. “We can't have a successful Olympic Games unless they are a clean Olympic Games.”
Athletes who do get away with it, Fogt said, have an impact on other Olympians who aren’t using banned substances to enhance their performance.
“It's frustrating when they're all trying to do the right thing and they don't feel like the rules are enforced the same across the board,” Fogt said. “So it makes WADA lose a little bit of credibility. But hopefully, it's an isolated incident and we can move forward.”
However, the investigation into WADA should continue, he said, because “transparency is always the best.”
“If there is something wrong with WADA and there is something going on behind the scenes that we don't know about, it needs to be brought out now so we get fixed prior to us hosting the Games here.”
Most importantly, none of these former Olympians believe Utah will lose the 2034 Games if the U.S. continues to investigate WADA.
