The International Swimming Federation (FINA) has announced that its executive director, Brent Nowicki, has been subpoenaed to testify as a witness in a U.S. criminal investigation related to the case of 23 Chinese swimmers who tested positive for a banned substance in 2021. Despite the positive tests, the swimmers were allowed to continue competing.
The House Committee on China requested the Justice Department and the FBI to investigate the case under a federal law that allows investigations into suspected doping conspiracies, even if they occurred outside the U.S. World Aquatics, the governing body of swimming, confirmed that its top administrator has been served a witness subpoena by the U.S. government as part of the investigation.
Nowicki is working to schedule a meeting with the government, which may eliminate the need for him to testify before a Grand Jury. World Aquatics did not provide details about where and when Nowicki was served his subpoena or which office is handling the investigation. The FBI has not yet commented on the matter.
In Tokyo, 11 of these swimmers are set to compete in next month’s Paris Olympics, just three weeks away. The swimmers who tested positive for a banned heart medication were allowed to compete in Tokyo under an explanation of food contamination by Chinese officials