Canadian swimmer Penny Oleksiak suspended two years for anti-doping rule violation

John Vennavally-Rao has more on the International Testing Agency's decision to ban Canadian swimmer Penny Oleksiak from competition for two years.

The International Testing Agency says Canadian swimmer Penny Oleksiak has been given a two-year ban from competition for an anti-doping rule violation.

The ITA said in a release issued Tuesday that Oleksiak accepted the suspension for committing three whereabouts failures between October 2024 and June 2025.

The suspension ends July 14, 2027, before the next 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 executive officer Suzanne Paulins said in a statement. “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 national team and hope to see her back in the pool when she is eligible.”

Paulins said athletes are responsible for completing whereabouts and submitting filings on time to comply with anti-doping rules to avoid sanctions.

The World Anti-Doping Code defines a whereabouts failure as any combination of three missed tests or filing failures in a 12-month period.

The ITA notified Oleksiak of the whereabouts case earlier this year.

Oleksiak withdrew from the world aquatics championships in July and accepted a provisional suspension at the time.

The 25-year-old from Toronto is Canada’s most decorated female Olympian.

She has won seven Olympic medals (one gold, two silver, four bronze) and nine world championship medals (two silver, seven bronze) over her career.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 25, 2025.