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Michael Phelps wants athletes who test positive for a banned substance to be banned from the Olympics for life, and he isn’t shy about it.
Speaking at a sponsor event in Paris, Phelps said that there’s only one way to make sure that the Olympics aren’t marred by doping.
“If you test positive, you should never be allowed to come back and compete again, cut and dry,” he said. “I believe one and done.”
Michael Phelps Wants Olympics To Bring Hammer Down On Doping
Phelps’ comments came after the World Anti-Doping Agency and World Aquatics acknowledged that 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for a banned substance ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.
Nine of those swimmers won medals Paris, and several were on relay teams.
“If everybody is not going through that same testing, I have a serious problem because it means the level of sport is not fair and it’s not even,” Phelps continued. “If you’re taking that risk, then you don’t belong in here.”
He then noted the rigorous testing that he faced while competing.
“People called me a cheater throughout my career,” Phelps said. “I subjected myself to do more testing — blood and urine — weekly. Why? For the reason that I could say I’m not cheating, and I am clean and here are the results.
“I did it the clean way,” he added. “I won 23 Olympic gold medals the clean way. It can be done.”
He also claimed that the playing field wasn’t level when he was swimming.
“I don’t think I ever competed in an even playing field or a clean field,” Phelps said. “I have some speculations of some athletes that I competed against that I thought they were [doping]. But that’s out of my control.”
How would Phelps fix it?
“What has to happen is everybody has to come together and figure out one way to test everybody all over the world. Period,” he said. “And if you test positive, you should never be allowed to come back and compete again.”
It’s a bold vision. But it’s hard to argue with his logic.