Doping-Probe of Chinese swimmers could keep US from hosting future events, ASOIF says

An investigation by American law enforcement into a doping case involving 23 Chinese swimmers could keep the United States from hosting future sporting events, the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) said on Friday.

World Aquatics confirmed last week that its executive director Brent Nowicki has been subpoenaed by the U.S. government to testify in an investigation into how the Chinese swimmers escaped punishment after testing positive and weeks later were allowed to compete in the Tokyo Olympics.

A U.S. House of Representatives committee in May called on the Department of Justice (DOJ) to launch inquiries ahead of this year's Paris Olympics to ensure American athletes would be competing on a level playing field.

The results of an independent investigation into the Chinese matter by Swiss prosecutor Eric Cottier released on Tuesday found the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) had not mishandled the case.

"The Association of Summer Olympic International Federations is greatly concerned that the leadership of one of its member International Federations (World Aquatics) has been ordered to testify as a witness in a United States (U.S.) federal investigation," said ASOIF.

The U.S. investigation has chilled relations between the 2028 Olympic host country and a chunk of the international sporting community with some federations expressing concern about sending officials to the United States over fears they could be arrested.

Images of members of soccer's world governing body FIFA being arrested on U.S. corruption charges as they exited a Zurich hotel in 2015 remain fresh and not a scene the International Olympic Committee (IOC) or member federations would like to see repeated.

"The U.S. extraterritorial