After receiving a provisional suspension last June, 24-year-old Rafaela Raurich was recently handed a four-year ban by the Brazilian Authority for Doping Control (ABCD)—the maximum allowed—for testing positive for six prohibited substances during the 2024 Brazilian Olympic Trials.
The length of the ban implies that she was unable to present a convincing accidental contamination claim to the tribunal that heard the case.
According to the report published on the ABCD website, her suspension will run from June 20, 2024, through June 19, 2028. You can view the full report here.
Notably, Brazil typically holds its Olympic Trials from late April to mid-May. While the dates and location for the 2028 Trials have not yet been announced, it appears unlikely that Raurich will be able to compete if the trend continues in 2028.
These are the six banned substances that Raurich tested positive for:
- Testosterone
- Epitestosterone
- Etiocholanolone
- Androsterone
- 5a-Androstanediol
- 5b-Androstanediol
At the 2024 Brazilian Trials, representing the Curitibano team, she finished 6th in the 200 butterfly with a time of 2:17.28—her best result of the meet. She also placed 18th in the 100 fly (1:02.10) and 27th in the 200 freestyle (2:07.97).
Raurich was a highly touted junior swimmer, with her 1:59.68 in the 200 free at the 2017 Maria Lenk Trophy—when she was just 16—particularly standing out. She also clocked a time of 55.96 in the 100 free at age 17, and owns bests of 1:00.70 and 2:13.48 in the 100 and 200 fly, respectively, from 2018 when she was 20.
Outside of long course, she was a member of Nova Southeastern University’s NCAA Division II National Championship team during the 2023–2024 season. The team won the title by 25.5 points over runners-up Colorado Mesa. This marked the team’s second consecutive championship, with their first title won in 2023—prior to Raurich joining the roster.
There, she won the NCAA Division II titles in the 100-yard fly (53.16) and 200-yard fly (1:56.17), while also placing fifth in the 200-yard free (1:48.15) and 11th in the 100-yard free (50.46), earning a total of 60 individual points. She also contributed to the title-winning 800 free relay team, as well as the runner-up 200 medley relay and 400 medley relay squads.
While NCAA competition isn’t subject to World Anti-Doping Code rules (the NCAA has its own anti-doping policies, which have been criticized by WADA), Raurich did not appear on Nova Southeastern’s roster for this past season. She was listed as a sophomore in 2024 after transferring from Drury, where she swam in the 2021-22 season. At Drury, she finished 3rd in the 200 fly at the NCAA D2 Championships (1:58.98), while also touching 14th in the 100 fly (54.90) and 20th in the 200 free (1:51.07).
BH incoming!
You will be surprised how many people in D2 and D3 on some sort of juice. We had a few guys on our team taking pro hormones, was it worth possibly screwing up natural testosterone to finish in top 5 in a conference few people have heard of and qualify for NCAA that no one follows? They thought so 🤦♂️
D1 as well. Only WADA or USADA athletes have been getting tested for PEDs since Covid.
Difference is that in D1 at least you are competing for the peak league of the sport.
I’ve heard mid major can be bad too and just as dangerously sloppy (doing what you read about on blogs and forums, no actual doctor or medical monitoring)
I hope that at least the top tier conferences have some trained guidance.
Hey is there gonna be an enhanced masters division soon?! Been thinking about coming out of retirement.
It already exists, it’s called “United States Masters Swimming”. Look around at Nationals and tell me there aren’t some performance enhancing drugs involved.
If I was going to cheat I would go big. Not 6 drugs big, all of the drugs big! And not for simple performance enhancing purposes but because when a test comes back saying you tested positive for 55 drugs, whose going to believe that?
Doping to get 27th is crazy work
So many Brazilians are on stuff. My buddy’s teammate at delta state admitted to be on them, and then transferred. This is after I told my buddy that my teammate from Brazil told me he was on them when I asked him if he knew my buddy’s new teammate.
V. Marinho
D2 getting in the headlines!
Yikes, was doping really worth it going 2:18 in 2 fly? Sigh