U.S. may not be able to host 2034 Olympics, former IOC member says

There is a possibility that the United States may not be able to host the 2024 Winter Olympics if its law enforcement authorities go too far in their investigation of Chinese swimmers, according to former senior International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Dick Pound.

Pound, who is also the World Anti-Doping Agency's founding president, told Reuters that the Rodchenkov Act the U.S. is using to investigate the contamination case of 23 Chinese swimmers is non-compliant with the world anti-doping code.

Countries that fall out of compliance with the code are not allowed to compete in or stage international sporting events.

The Rodchenkov Act gives the United States broad extraterritorial jurisdiction over any international sporting competitions that include American athletes or have financial connections to the U.S..

"My guess is that one of the steps that WADA is going to take at this point is to turn this particular issue over to the compliance review committee, which I suspect, if or when there's a hearing on it, they will declare the U.S. non-compliant. It would mean they could not host the Olympics," Reuters quoted Pound as saying.

Pound added that the International Olympic Committee might consider delaying the confirmation of Salt Lake City as the host site for the 2034 Winter Games.

The Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) has voiced its support for WADA while expressing concerns about the safety of its officials. The U.S. Department of Justice, probing WADA's handling of the case, has summoned the executive director of World Aquatics, Brent Nowicki, to testify in the case.

A review by Swiss independent prosecutor Eric Cottier looking into WADA's handling of the case has concluded that WADA was not "biased" and had no irregularities, while an audit by World Aquatics reached a similar determination that there was no mismanagement or cover-up.