Canadian Olympic swimmer Penny Oleksiak banned from competition until 2027

[Former Lurve Goddess]

Kind of similar to what happened with Daniel Grass - Penny Oleksiak banned from competition until 2027 after accepting penalty for whereabouts failures

 

[kwanfan1818]

I read that on Bluesky last night posted by someone anticipating outrage among Canadians who had no idea that this is a thing.

 

[Former Lurve Goddess]

I read that on Bluesky last night posted by someone anticipating outrage among Canadians who had no idea that this is a thing.

CBC Radio was very careful when they discussed her case this morning. Oleksiak is one of Canada's biggest Olympic stars so I imagine we will see a lot of outrage. I have no idea if this is true or not but on reddit there was a comment that Oleksiak is a known as a "party girl" and doesn't train very hard off-season, so the poster figured that she was out and about going to things like Coachella and a Formula 1 event when she missed logging her whereabouts. I wonder if she'll eventually end up having her suspension time reduced as Grassl did.

 

[marbri]

Penny has struggled the last few years, mentally and physically. She moved her training base to LA in 2023. A lot of top Canadian swimmers moved training bases around the globe a few years back when Swimming Canada didn't renew a coaching contract with a specific coach due to $$$$

Penny's missed tests are from October 2024 to June 14, 2025.
October 2024 she was hiking Mt Kilimanjaro ( 1st missed test )
( June 12, 2025 she was at Canadian swimming trials)
June 14 , 2025 she was at F1 racing in Montreal (June 13-15) ( third missed test )

Unknown where the second missed test was but she bops around a bit to NHL games ( her brother plays in the NHL ), Coachella, Miami for a sponsorship photo shoot is also in this timeframe.

My gut feeling with Penny is it isn't doping, it's her lifestyle ie... she isn't filing changes to her schedule in a timely manner. Apparently a lot of athletes have 1-2 violations within a given 12 month period. She still has a lot of sponsorship deals even though she hasn't been swimming great in recent years. In fact I am even more convinced she isn't doping because she didn't even qualify an A time for the past summers World Championships, she was going as a relay swimmer on a B time.

BUT if I didn't follow swimming and didn't know much about her I would of course assume she was doping. So a lot of people will. Just like I suspect Grassl missing three because he was in Russia training with Eteri is suspect af.

 

[skategal]

If it’s not doping it’s really dumb.

You would think an athlete would be super careful about this after getting notified of one or two missed tests.

Or maybe it’s self-sabotage because she no longer wants to swim but feels obligated not to retire?

 

[marbri]

A lot of people feel she hasn't taken it seriously for some time now. I think that is true but I also think she struggled to find motivation. I imagine even more so when injuries and spirit are broke and you are just going through the motions.

But she DID seem excited at trials June 2025 when she was named to the team as a relay swimmer. There is more excitement around the Canadian team in the last few years so I can see how that could have re-motivated her. But I think for her it was a case of not caring soon enough

But with the current suspension she can't compete again until June 2027, after Canadian trials for Worlds that year so I would think it is going to be extra hard to stay motivated to LA 28. Time will tell but with her age I think it will be a struggle. At this point though she hasn't retired and is still in the testing pool for doping.

 

[Former Lurve Goddess]

It must be so hard live up to being a (surprise) gold medallist at age 16 along with winning multiple medals in the same games. It's my understand that Oleksiak's technique is not the best and that's one of the many reasons she has struggled since she's been out of her teens. Maybe the suspension will end up re-motivating her even if it's just to make the relays for LA 2028.

 

[kwanfan1818]

I worked with someone who was a surprise Olympian when they were young, became a world record-holder during the next cycle, and, by a hair, missed the next Olympic team. As an adult, they were a mess. When they described their athletic career over a decade later, the shame was still palpable.

 

[Winnipeg]

I can understand someone wanting a break from the grind of training at the Oly level but why not just say so and take a year off publicly? I am purely speculating of course and this may not be the reason at all for her non reporting.

I do not think she is doping or has doped.