Madeline Folsom contributed to this report.
The International Testing Agency (ITA) and Aquatics Integrity Unit have confirmed the provisional suspension for star Canadian swimmer Penny Oleksiak after she missed three Whereabouts filings in a 12 month period.
“The International Testing Agency (ITA), on behalf of World Aquatics, reports that Canadian swimmer Penelope Oleksiak has been notified of an apparent Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV) under Article 2.4 of the World Aquatics anti-doping rules (World Aquatics ADR),” a statement from the ITA reads.
Specifically, Oleksiak committed three whereabouts failures within a 12-month period between October 2024 and June 2025.
That implies that the third missed test came after Oleksiak qualified for the Canadian team at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore.
In a now-deleted Instagram post, Oleksiak announced two weeks ago that she was withdrawing from the World Championship team and accepting a voluntary provisional suspension. Any eventual sanction would be reduced by the amount of time she was suspended under the voluntary provisional suspension.
In the post, Oleksiak asserted ““I am and always have been a clean athlete” and that the case “does not involve any banned substance; it’s about whether I updated my information correctly.”
Swimming Canada echoed the sentiment and said “We support her decision and believe she is a clean athlete who made an administrative mistake.”
A simultaneous statement on Friday from the Aquatics Integrity Unit, the disciplinary arm of World Aquatics, confirmed the news, but was even less detailed than the statement from the ITA. Both the AQIU and ITA said that they would not make any further comments during the ongoing proceedings.
A Whereabouts Case is an Anti-Doping rule violation that can affect athlete eligibility even if they have never taken a banned substance. The World Anti-Doping Code defines a Whereabouts failure as any combination of three missed tests or filing failures in a 12-month period.
Athletes who are members of the “Registered Testing Pool” which is the highest tier of athlete testing, are required to report an accurate and up-to-date filing of their whereabouts at all times. This is so they can be drug tested at any time and any place with no advance notice.
According to World Aquatics, if an athlete in the testing pool submits “late, inaccurate or incomplete whereabouts that lead to [them] being unavailable for testing, [they] may receive a Filing Failure.”
Registered Testing Pool athletes are also subject to Missed Tests, which is when they are not available for a drug test during a 60-minute time slot. Any combination of three Filing Failures or Missed Tests within 12-months could result in a two-year ban.
Oleksiak moved her training base to Los Angeles in the fall of 2023, which is presumably where her violations have occurred. She has not received a suspension yet, but if she competed at the World Championships, and then receives a suspension, it could potentially affect her results and the results of any relay she competed on.
She was one of 14 women who earned a spot on Canada’s World’s team after she took home first place finishes in the 50 and 100 freestyle events at Canadian Trials last month. Her withdrawal will have significant implications for Canada’s relay teams.
In addition to allowing Oleksiak credit for ‘time served,’ withdrawing voluntarily prevents any relays she swims on at the World Championships from being retroactively disqualified if the ITA and AQIU find reason to strip her of results individually.
Oleksiak, 25, was on the leading edge of Canada’s rise in women’s swimming when she won four medals at the 2016 Summer Olympics. That included a tie with American Simone Manuel for gold in the 100 free. She added three more medals in Tokyo (for seven total).
Her nine World Aquatics Championship medals make her Canada’s most-decorated swimmer ever at that meet, though Summer McIntosh (who has eight) is projected to take over that throne in Singapore.
Can you clarify which public statement says she missed three tests? The article opens by stating three missed tests and then appears to use “missed tests” and whereabouts failures interchangeably even while acknowledging there is another type of whereabouts failure. The only public statements I can find from ITA and AQIU say three whereabouts failures, not specifically three missed tests. It matters for a few reasons including chances of an appealable issue and the kinds of things people are speculating about in the comments.
She’s been living in L.A. since 2023. She’s settled there. Yet she’s missed three doping tests in less than a year : nine months.
Miss one test, it’s questionable. But three? Has she been moving and living in different cities since 2023? No.
You’d think that after the second she’d have all her info in order, but no. She seems quite reckless and irresponsible.
I hope she gets a two year suspension. Maybe she’ll learn to focus better.
Hi Karen, if you followed her on social media you would know that her brother plays in the nhl and she’s from Toronto and she travels for swim meets. Yes she’s distracted trying to market herself
I know in my heart she would never dope, but what’s with the missed test after qualification? She has two jobs – show up to practice and report where she is. Such a blow to the Canadian team.
Self-sabotage? I think this is it for her if banned for two years.
Not that I think she would either, but no one truly knows…too bad though.
bruh
I guess “managing her career on her own terms” means also disregarding the rules of the sport.
Fact is she missed 3 doping tests. She deserves the appropriate punishment and her funding from us Canadian tax payers revoked.
Once, you could forgive, twice you could go hmmm…but third time you just shake your head.
Time for her to retire and move onto something she is more passionate about.
I know I am just a keyboard warrior but please Penny just put the fries in the bag or commit at least 80% to swimming!!
A lot of people who don’t know what they are talking about just making obscene comments. Penny has had to deal with a lot of injuries and setbacks in her career and because she decides to keep them private ya’ll assume she doesn’t work hard or car about swimming. Shes the top freestyler in the country for a reason and you all hate her because she has a social life? She’s also been consistent tested since she was 16 years old and at 25 she’s missed 3 tests in a year. That doesn’t mean she doesn’t care. Mistakes happen, you’d all be surprised at how many people are currently at 2 missed tests.
I am unclear if it’s a whereabouts filing or a missed test. They amount to the same thing, but slightly different circumstances
Calling missing 3 doping tests a mistake is a huge stretch. Especially when she would have been given two warnings prior to the third. Most athletes would normally be hyper vigilant not to incur a third after getting the second.
Pretty simple rule in most sports – 3 strikes and you are out.
No sympathy. Especially as you pointed out she’s been doing this since she was 16. She knows the ropes.
Nobody is denying her a social life, however, the optics are what they are. If you have enough time to post on Instagram and attend events, then you should have enough time to do the reporting you are getting funding/paid to do. Period.
“Shes the top freestyler in the country for a reason”
She WAS the top freestyler in Canada from 2016-2021.
She’s no longer the top freestyler in Canada.
She just won the 50/100 Freestyle at Trials. Winning = top.
You are being judgmental and saying things you would not say in public. Canuck Swim. Don’t be a Troll.
none of what Canuck Swim said is untrue and I’ve heard these conversations going on at the pool this week
Agree canuckswim! 3 is pure negligence and should be punished in some way.
Girl needs to grow up.
We’ll give her the benefit of the doubt given she’s training in Los Angeles which is a notoriously difficult and obscure location to send testers to
Also Belgian Grand Prix is coming , there is no way Penny is missing another opportunity for a cool Instagram post!!