Seven-Time Olympic Medallist Gets Two-Year Suspension For Anti-Doping Rule Violation | Other-sports News

Penny Oleksiak is Canada’s most decorated female Olympian. (AP Photo)

Canadian swimmer Penny Oleksiak has received a two-year competition ban for an anti-doping rule violation, the International Testing Agency (ITA) announced on Tuesday.

The seven-time Olympic medalist accepted the suspension after committing three whereabouts failures between October 2024 and June 2025, the ITA stated in a news release. The suspension, which concludes on July 14, 2027, will end before the 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,” said Swimming Canada CEO Suzanne Paulins. “While we accept Penny’s explanation that 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 national team and hope to see her back in the pool when she is eligible.”

According to the World Anti-Doping Code, a whereabouts failure is defined as any combination of three missed tests or filing failures within a 12-month period.

The ITA notified Oleksiak of the whereabouts case earlier this year. She subsequently withdrew from the world aquatics championships in July and accepted a provisional suspension at that time.

At 25 years old, the Toronto native is Canada’s most decorated female Olympian. Throughout her career, she has earned seven Olympic medals (one gold, two silver, four bronze) and nine world championship medals (two silver, seven bronze).

With AP Inputs