Hearing in ways to improve the National Antidoping system. Ton heels of the summer games in rio and less than a year away from pyeongchang. Fitting we are holding this hearing on february 28, a champion thats won gold medals and wasnt referring to you mr. Referring to Michael Phelps. Squl it ultimately i hope this hearing hopes to highlight ways which we can strengthen confidence in International Sport. Within the antidoping community there are concerns regarding organizational structure and how the Current System creates an environment where they are both policing and promoting the sport. Wada currently exists, they simultaneously hold policy making decision, they can have real and perceived affects on rigorous possible violations as well as enforcement of antidoping measures, several have stated that wada lacks support itself, recent proposals suggested removing it from governance structures to improve independence and operation today we want to evaluate those concerns and discuss the proposal forms. Further there needs to be an established decisionmaking process. The buck was passed multiple times between the International Olympic committee and antinational doping organizations and sports federations to where and who was in charge of making the decisions of whether or not athletes would be allowed to participate in the summer games. Tsengs a sanctions, and bans but does not appear to be guidelines in consistent penalties. The general public depends on the government bodies to ensure cheating does not become the accepted norm. This is important for our youth. Recent events highlight the needs to utilizing partners and antidoping e antidoping efforts in whistle blowing. Athletes and whistle blowers are often times to see the problems at the ground level and critical to the ability to identify and investigate violations therefore it bears questioning whether the Current System does enough to encourage, embrace and protect those fighting for clean sport. While many meetings have occurred since the rio games, progress remains unclear. This hearing provides an opportunity the learn from past pl mistakes to move forward so that is effective, fair and nimble. The sake of athletes and International Competition using the Olympic Games. Finally some ask why congress is doing a hearing on sports rules. And it is because it is a matter of a multibillion dollars sports economy in maybe. But i believe it is important we send the right message to the youth and athletes of the world that cheating is not acceptable at any level whether in economy, trade or sports. We welcome our allstar panel of witnesses, your appearance before the subcommittee is vital to have a discussion. We are excited to have mr. Phelps and mr. Nelson to share the athletes perspective. They have competed at the highest level and have insights on the challenges that are faced and would like to thank them and look forward to an informative discussion. With that i yield five minutes to the senator from colorado. Thank you. This involves a wide ranging russian scheme to circumvent relied on to ensure clean sport. After unfortunate delays made by courageous russia was systemically involved in doping. The person commissioned by wada, tasked with this released his findings, what it was reported was a systematic effort by russia to help its athlete both dope and circumvent doping controls. The doping was widespread according to wada games, the fiia championships and Many International events. Frankly well probably never know the full extent of cheating and who benefit toted as many a 1,000 might have benefit from the this effort according to wadas investigation. And also found that the very agencies created including the russian antinational doping agency were itself helping to cheat. Even rushs federal Security Service or fsb played a role. It raises troubling questions how the Global Sports community should sanction doping violators, for example because they were made weeks before start of rio games, confusion surfaced whether russia should collectively be banned from rye rio, rather than implement the recommendation, the ioc punted that decision to the International Sports federations who were not all equipped to take on that sudden task. In the end what ensued was a muddled process of sending a very, very weak message to the cheaters, even today im not sure whose job it was to hold russia accountable. Last week several antidoping organizations met in dublin and petitioned that russia be banned from hosting International Sporting vents until the country comes back into compliance with wadas recommendation, but what, if anything, will happen to those recommendations . I understand that the ioc has created two commissions into the wads independent investigation, while i support due process with athletes possibly implicated i believe theres enough finding from wadas investigations that you if you cheat you do not play. How did this persist so long undetected for example . Is wada originganized to catch . Finally a number of National Antidoping organization met in copenhagen last year and put forth recommendations to keep sports clean, they include addressing certain conflicts of interest within wada and clarifying the agencys authority to sanction and investigate doping violators. It is unclear what happened to these recommendations but to believe they may be a blueprint to move forward. As i said before, wadas entire budget is a mere 30 million and the u. S. The largest contributor provides a mere 2 million. The mclaren investigation alone will cost 2 million so clearly we need investigation into this. I want to welcome our witnesses. In particular our two athletes who are here mr. Nelson and mr. Phelps. I think your perspective will really help us. I also think we should thank wada itself and especially want to commend mr. Tieg aarttiegart. For the work in the investigation. Its an unfortunate set of events that forced us into this room today, but i think the international Sports Community need to realize when dealing with russia and its approach to ensuring clean International Competitions the honor system is simply not going to be enough. And i yield back. Now recognize the chairman to have full committee mr. Greg walden berg for five minutes. Thank you i want to welcome all of our witnesses and olympians to help us better understand whats going on in this situation. For censoturies, from the slope of limb o limp i suspect eve in this room knows the emotion collective experience and beauty of sport. Nothing embodies it more than Olympic Games. It is the hallmark recogardlessf nationnality or religion. There is a lot of truth to the message but also cannot be blind to reality. Athletes and nations compete to win. They do not invest countless hours training to lose. They sacrifice for success and victories rewarded. This is why they have sought substance performing and gladiators used her bbherbs and. Drugs have become more sophisticated and the cheaters more creative. Despite improvements at the turn of the century at the World Antidoping Agency wada remains an up hill battle. The temptation to cheat will always be for a cut. Thanks to the courage and tenacity of whistle blowers, journalists and others we were exposed that felt more like a movie script than reality of International Sport. It was not a case of individual athletes looking for an edge, it was state sponsored doping hundreds of athletes knowingly or unknowingly Widespread Campaign to enhance performance, alter results. Despite the shocking allegations later bolstered by a series of independent commissions and reports the response of International Sport has become a hodgepodge of indecisive inconsistent actions. What went wrong . It is one thing for an individual to beat the system but how could it go undetected for so long and what has been the response been in . Its been a quagmire. Thats why were here today to learn from the past in pursuit of a Better Future for clean sport. There will always be those who seek to gain an advantage. The opportunities afforded by scientific invasion too attempting. The challenge is daunting and may never totally be solved but not an excuse for action. We must do better even if its difficult and uncomfortable reforms. Success is not achieved by sitting on the sideline. It requires dedication as your athletes have clearly shown. The millions of Clean Athletes around the world who push the limits of physical and mental exhaustion who sacrifice so much, dont they deserve a similar commitment to those responsible for protecting the integrity of their sport . I believe they do. Thank you mr. Chairman, i yield back the balance of my time. Gentleman yields back. Thank you mr. Chairman. I want to begin by thanking our witnesses for the on going commitment of sbintegrity to sports. And i would like to single out travis tieg eert who has aggressive fought for the athletes for drug free competition. Several of us sent a letter to the president of the Olympic International committee to ensure the integrity of sports. When we wrote the letter wada had gun releasing initial findings from its independent investigation into whether russia fell into it. It read like a war novel. Agencies helped athletes dope, even the fsb played a role according to wadas investigation, upon a release of the findings wada recommend it ban russia and russian athletes for participation in the 2016 rio games, however the ioc delegated that decision to the International Sports federations, nororganizations t may not have had the ability to under take such tasks. Even today it remains unclear what sanctions the ioc and other sports related organizations can or will take in response to wadas independent investigation. Collectively these organizations must take decisive action, must send an unambiguous message that they will not be able to create an advantage over athletes. Wadas independent investigation raises serious concerns about policing doping including ability to sanction athletes institutions and even countries that continue to conspire the antidoping code. Im encouraged by the recommendation made by a group of National Antidoping agency that would strength then wada. The group wants to ensure that wada has the authority to investigate suspected doping violations, also want to provide wada Additional Resources to better develop antidoping situations. And remove conflict of interests in order to protect whistle blowers. We all care about the international community, but it will continue to be questioned until an effective antidoping system is in place. Again i want to thank our witnesses for attending this hearing so we can identify what actions are needed moving forward to build a better antidoping system. Finally the underlying cause of what happened and making changes based on those findings is something we must do for the athletes and integrity of the International Sport. Thank you, mr. Chairman and yield back the balance of my time. I ask that the written statements be introduced into the record. Documents will be entered into the record. First welcome adam nelson p, american shot put, and he is currently the president of the track and athletes association, mr. Nelson was never properly awarded his medal for his olympic achievements i would like to take a moment to congratulate him and in the spirit of clean and fair sport. Its a shame it had to happen at a airport at a food court. Next we are honored to have mr. Michael phelps, hes the most decorated olympian of all time, 28 medals and three during the course of five games. Hes been an advocate for clean sport. Nexttiegert. With 15 years working usada in various leadership roles, we works closely to carry out the Organizations Mission of preserving the integrity of competition and inspiring u. S. Athletes. And welcome rob keilar, mr. Keilar comes to with almost two decades of experience working in the antidoping field for ethics and sports. Mr. Keilar is responsible for the oversight of all u. S. National antidoping organizations as well as global anti doping initiatives, lastly we welcome dr. Richard budget for the International Olympic committee. Dr. Budget is responsible for ensuring that the organizing committees of each addition of the Olympic Games deliver excellent antidoping working closely with the antidoping committees. Youre all aware that this committee is holding an investigative hearing and when doing so has had the practice of taking testimony under oath. Do any of you object to giving testimony under oath . Seeing no objection, under the rules of the house and committee you are entitled to be advised by counsel, do any of you to be advised by counsel . Seeing none please rise and ill swear you in. Do you swear the testimony you are about to give is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, thank you. All the witnesses answered in the fimaffirmative. Call upon to give a five minute statement. This timer is not like in the game so nothing bad is going to happen if it turns red on you, mr. Nelson. Good morning and thank you, mr. Chairman and members of this committee for hosting this event and hopefully supporting clean sport. As a nineyearold i remember watching athletes like mary lou retin in the Olympic Games and inspired me for what it would be like competing in a ceremony, i competed as a shot putter that full ti fulfilled the dream for four more years. The 2004 shot put was for 58 of 60 throws i led that competition on the 59th throw the athlete from the ukraine tied my best mark. As the leader going into the final rounlds i had the bridgepe of taking the final throw. I never imagined it could be like this, but these are the moments that make the olympics great and can remember everybody about that moment, the faces in the crowd, the heat, the sun baking my skin, and mixture of cheers and boos for an american athlete as he was competing for a gold medal. These are the moments that change the trajectory of your life and make it worthwhile. The world went quiet. Felt the coolness of the shot put touch farther than any other throw of the day. I raised my hands in sure victory, realizing that i had just won the olympic gold medal, only to look left and see the red flag raise indicating i fouled. I saw as another athlete started his victory lap, and listened as they played another National Anthem and raised another flag, celebrating him. And in his honor. For eight years i lived with that result, eight years later i received a phone call from a reporter informing me that five athletes tested positive in a retroactive drug testing from samples from 2004. The last eight years of my life had apparently been based on a falsehood. A month later the same reporter called me to inform me the ioc was meeting that day to discuss whether or not to vacate his position or reallocate the medals. While on that call, the news hit the wires and the reporter informed me i was now the olympic gold medalist. A year later i picked up my medal in the food court at the atlanta airport, came with a side of fries and a free toy, dont worry about it. It was an afterthought. An official who could swing through atlanta on his way home. Nine years after the moment had passed, the color and timing of a medal matter, folks. Silver does not hold the same value and gold loses its shine over time. There is no small bit of irony of me winning a medal in this fashion. As an athlete, i rejected the notion you needed drugs to compete. I was vocal about clean sport and often criticized by competitors or peers for my position. I was often told not to comment on the current state of antidoping or doping in sports at major events, for fear it would be a distraction. Doping in sports is seen by some as a distraction for the athletes, an obstacle for the sport of the business of sport. It is a stain on an otherwise beautiful set of ideals that we know as the spirit of olympism. As a result, we have a system that is interested in seeing progress, but not truly committed to achieving the outcome. My story illustrates only part of the damage caused by doping in sport, but im not here to invoke sympathy, sympathy is a thought, an emotion devoid of action, im here today to ask you all to give medal to give meaning to my medal. This medal here. Im here to ask for action on behalf of millions of dreamers like me who believe in fair play and aspire for gold medals to be won and celebrated in the moment after a clean and fair competition. Since 2012, ive become a student of International Sports organizations. Ive advocated for clean sports, spoken with athletes from around the world about this subject. Ive heard their voices, the voices of the Clean Athletes, they ask for more. But those voices continue to fall on deaf ears. So they resort to social media, they wag fingers. And they create a petition that has already garnered almost 500 athlete signatures in support of structural reform. Athletes want action. Not words. Structural reform is only part of the solution, i cannot change a culture strictly by changing policy. You have to engage the athletes. So i ask as an athlete, olympic gold medalist, and someone personally and financially impacted by doping and sport, that you consider Clean Athlete as a shared owner in this all important fight. We will stand with you as a partner if you empower us to do so. Partner. The time of the moment is now. Thank you very much for your time. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Phelps, youre recognized for five minutes. Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, good morning. My name is Michael Phelps. Im a retired professional swimmer and an olympian. I want to thank the committee