Canada’s Penny Oleksiak withdraws from worlds over whereabouts issue

TORONTO – Penny Oleksiak, Canada’s most decorated female Olympian, has pulled out of the upcoming World Aquatics Championships in Singapore because of a probe into an alleged breach of the anti-doping code under the whereabouts rule.

Elite athletes are obliged to keep the doping authorities informed of their regular activities and competition schedules, and must indicate a 60-minute time slot every day when they are available for random testing.

Former Olympic 100 metres freestyle champion Oleksiak, 25, announced her withdrawal from the world championships on social media on July 4, stressing that the issue did not involve any banned substances.

“I wanted to confirm I am involved in a whereabouts case with World Aquatics that’s still in the preliminary stages,” she wrote in a statement. “I want to emphasise that this whereabouts case does not involve any banned substance; it’s about whether I updated my information correctly.

“Out of respect for Swimming Canada, my fellow racers and clean sport, I have decided not to compete at the world championships. I am and always have been a clean athlete and will be making no further comment at this time.”

There was no immediate response to a request for comment from World Aquatics.

Swimming Canada also released a statement supporting Oleksiak’s move, saying it believed she was a clean athlete who had made an “administrative mistake”.

“We understand that Penny has been notified that she did not keep her whereabouts information fully up to date,” said Swimming Canada chief executive Suzanne Paulins. “She has explained to us that it was inadvertent and that in no way is she involved in the use of banned substances.

“This is a team-first decision, as while she has not been sanctioned at this time, participating at world championships could potentially affect team results if an anti-doping rule violation is determined.”

As well as taking the blue riband sprint gold at Rio as a 16-year-old in 2016, Oleksiak has won six other Olympic medals and nine at three world championships.

The swimming events at the championships in Singapore are from July 27 to Aug 3.

In other swimming news, the Seine River reopened to swimmers on July 5 in Paris, allowing people to take a dip in the French capital’s iconic waterway for the first time since 1923.

Parisians and visitors looking to cool off this summer can dive in – weather permitting – at three bathing sites, including one a stone’s throw from the Eiffel Tower.

The seasonal opening of the Seine for swimming is seen as a key legacy of the 2024 Paris Olympics, where open water swimmers and triathletes competed in its waters which were specially cleaned for the event. REUTERS, AFP