Canadian Swimming Star Handed Two-Year Suspension
Penny Oleksiak, Canada's most celebrated female Olympian, has accepted a significant two-year suspension from competitive swimming. The International Testing Agency announced the ban on Tuesday, 25 November 2025, citing breaches of the anti-doping code.
The Reason Behind the Ban
The suspension stems from three whereabouts failures committed by the swimmer within a single 12-month period. These failures relate to the strict protocol that requires athletes to inform anti-doping authorities of their location for one hour daily to facilitate unannounced out-of-competition testing.
Oleksiak's period of ineligibility is set to extend until 14 July 2027. In a substantial blow to her recent achievements, the ITA has declared that all competitive results obtained from 16 June 2025 onward are now disqualified. This includes the forfeiture of any medals, points, and prizes earned during this timeframe.
Swimming Canada's Response
Swimming Canada issued a formal statement respecting the ITA's decision to impose the suspension. The national governing body expressed its support for the enforcement of anti-doping rules as outlined in the Canadian Anti-Doping Program and through World Aquatics and the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Suzanne Paulins, CEO of Swimming Canada, commented on the situation, stating: "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."
Paulins added, "We will miss Penny on the national team and hope to see her back in the pool when she is eligible." The agency representing the 25-year-old swimmer did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters.
Background and Previous Investigation
This is not the first time the whereabouts issue has affected Oleksiak's career. Back in July, she withdrew from the World Championships that were scheduled to begin later that month due to an ongoing probe into an alleged breach of the anti-doping code under the same whereabouts rule.
When announcing her withdrawal at the time, Oleksiak was keen to stress that the matter did not involve any prohibited substances. She clarified that the issue centred entirely on "whether I updated my information correctly."
Swimming Canada previously released a statement supporting Oleksiak's decision to withdraw from the World Championships, indicating they believed she was a clean athlete who had simply made an "administrative mistake."
Oleksiak shot to fame as a 16-year-old at the 2016 Rio Olympics, where she claimed gold in the 100 metres freestyle. Her impressive career includes six other Olympic medals and nine medals from three separate World Championships, solidifying her status as one of Canada's greatest athletes.
