PARIS — Credit to Gene Sykes of the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee for not breaking out in a cackle of laughter as he defended a controversial clause in the agreement between Salt Lake City and the International Olympic Committee over the hosting of the 2034 Winter Olympics.
The amendment, which was agreed to here on Wednesday, allows for the IOC to “terminate” the contract and thus pull the hosting bid “in cases where the supreme authority of the World Anti-Doping Agency in the fight against doping is not fully respected, or if the application of the world anti-doping code is hindered or undermined.