The international swimming federation says its executive director has been ordered to testify as a witness in a U.S. criminal investigation into the case of 23 Chinese swimmers who tested positive for a banned substance in 2021 yet could continue competing.
The news comes just three weeks before the Paris Olympics where 11 of the Chinese swimmers who tested positive for the banned heart medication three years ago are set to compete.
The swimmers won three gold medals for China at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, just weeks after the World Anti-Doping Agency declined to challenge Chinese authorities’ explanation of food contamination at a hotel to justify not suspending them.
Those decisions, which World Aquatics separately reached also, were not revealed until reporting in April by the New York Times and German broadcaster ARD.
They already are through selection. China and Russia choose children with favorable genetics for a sport and groom them into competitors.
Nothing illegal about the approach, it’s just spooky to see.
With tools like CRISPR, I’m guessing it will soon be trivial to take those children and make their genes even more favorable toward a single athletic event or class of athletic events.
We will be seeing people who will leave Usain Bolt in the dust because they have been genetically modified in whatever possible way could give them a boost to their already big advantages. And like you said, nothing illegal about it.