Penny Oleksiak suspended 2 years for violating anti-doping rule

TORONTO — Canadian swimmer Penny Oleksiak has been given a two-year ban from competitors for an anti-doping rule violation, the International Testing Agency mentioned Tuesday.

The seven-time Olympic medalist accepted the suspension for committing three whereabouts failures between October 2024 and June 2025, the ITA mentioned in a information launch. The suspension ends July 14, 2027, earlier than the subsequent Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028.

“We are committed to the enforcement and support of all anti-doping rules as outlined in the Canadian Anti-Doping Program and through World Aquatics and the World Anti-Doping Agency,” Swimming Canada chief govt officer Suzanne Paulins mentioned in an announcement. “While we accept Penny’s explanation these were inadvertent errors and she has not used banned substances, anti-doping regulations are in place to ensure a level playing field for all athletes.

“We will miss Penny on the nationwide group and hope to see her again within the pool when she is eligible.”

The World Anti-Doping Code defines a whereabouts failure as any mixture of three missed checks or submitting failures in a 12-month interval.

The ITA notified Oleksiak of the whereabouts case earlier this yr. Oleksiak withdrew from the world aquatics championships in July and accepted a provisional suspension on the time.

The 25-year-old from Toronto is Canada’s most adorned feminine Olympian. She has received seven Olympic medals (one gold, two silver, 4 bronze) and 9 world championship medals (two silver, seven bronze) over her profession.