Canadian Olympic champion Penny Oleksiak pulls out of world titles amid anti-doping probe
Elite athletes are obliged to keep anti-doping authorities informed of their whereabouts at all times so random testing can take place.
Oleksiak — who dead-heated for gold in the 100m freestyle at the 2016 Olympics in Rio — announced her withdrawal from the world titles on social media, stressing 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," Oleksiak 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."
Swimming Canada (SC) also released a statement supporting Oleksiak's move, saying they 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," SC chief executive Suzanne Paulins said.
"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 sharing gold with American Simone Manuel in Rio as a 16-year-old in 2016, Oleksiak has won six other Olympic medals and nine at three World Aquatics Championships.
The world titles take place in Singapore from July 27 to August 3.
Reuters
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sydney Morning Herald
11 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Demon v Djoker: The Wimbledon showdown that is a year in the making
'It's funny how life works. Here we are a year later, and I'm going to get that match-up,' de Minaur said. 'But still, it was a brutal time for me last year, having to deal with all those emotions. [I'm] feeling good, ready to go, and I'm going to get my chance again, so I'm excited for that.' A lot has happened in between. De Minaur ascended to a career-high No.6 in the rankings after his 2024 Wimbledon run, but the hip setback had wide-ranging repercussions, from costing him playing singles at the Olympics to spending months on the sidelines. He somehow extended his grand slam quarter-finals streak at the US Open, but Brit Jack Draper mercilessly thrashed a clearly compromised de Minaur. His hip has long recovered, and he made a maiden quarter-final at the Australian Open in January – but a second-round loss at Roland-Garros in May prompted him to reveal he was suffering from mental fatigue and needed a tennis detox. The 26-year-old tumbled out of the top 10 ahead of this year's Wimbledon championships, and lost his only match on grass in straight sets, so expectations were modest. A friendly draw helped de Minaur advance to the round of 16 for the second straight year, with his opening three opponents' combined average ranking a lowly 127. Djokovic will be a significant rise in class. What the numbers say Both players dropped just one set on their way to the fourth round, but Djokovic's serve stands out. The Serbian superstar has hit 49 aces to the Australian's 12, his first-serve percentage shades de Minaur comfortably (73 per cent to 54), and he is winning 84 per cent of those points to de Minaur's 80. Djokovic has dropped serve only once – at his first attempt to complete his win over Miomir Kecmanovic in the previous round – whereas de Minaur's been broken four times. Loading De Minaur's ability to protect his serve will likely determine his fate, but he will fancy his chances of denting Djokovic's serving dominance, given he is the ATP Tour's leading returner statistically across the past year. Djokovic is 14th in the same metric. De Minaur has converted 15 of his 42 break points (36 per cent) at Wimbledon this year, while Djokovic has broken 19 times from 53 chances (36 per cent). There has been a gradual decline in de Minaur's first-serve percentage across the years as he takes more risks searching for power and cheaper points. Winning 80 per cent of first-serve points this fortnight is a great result. But occasionally, his percentage sinks dramatically, including landing only nine of 27 on his first ball in the opening set against Arthur Cazaux in the second round. That is the sole set de Minaur lost. He made only 42 per cent of first serves in his most-recent match against Djokovic in Monte-Carlo last year – and that won't cut it. Loading De Minaur has picked his spots well to come to the net, particularly in his past two wins over August Holmgren and Cazaux, where he won a combined 37 of 42 points (88 per cent) in that part of the court. But Djokovic has also been dominant at the net, where he is winning 80 per cent of points for the tournament. What they said Alex de Minaur: 'Novak has completed the game. He's broken all the records. It's amazing for him to still be showing up and still showing that fire and desire to win more. He's a player who can find motivation and fire from anything – and that's extremely dangerous. You don't want to give him something to get motivated about because then you'll definitely see his absolute best side.' Novak Djokovic: 'Alex has improved his game tremendously in the last couple of years. He's playing the tennis of his life. He's definitely knocking on the door of the final stages of grand slams. You're not super excited to play Alex de Minaur on grass, that's for sure, because he's so quick, and he's a complete player. He has gained pace on his serve as well. He hits his spots very well. [I'm expecting] a very tough challenge. I'm looking forward to it. I think it's going to be a great test to see where my game is at against a top player like Alex.' Demon v Djoker match-ups 2023 Australian Open R4 (hardcourt) Novak Djokovic d Alex de Minaur 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 How Demon reflects: 'Obviously, that first one we played was a whitewash. He was way too good, and I had no answers for him.' 2024 United Cup quarter-finals (hardcourt) Alex de Minaur d Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-4 How Demon reflects: 'It was an incredible moment to be able to overcome that previous result and actually finish on top. That was a huge stepping stone in my career and my confidence levels because the feeling I had after that first time we played wasn't great, and I was able to overcome that.'
The Age
11 hours ago
- The Age
Demon v Djoker: The Wimbledon showdown that is a year in the making
'It's funny how life works. Here we are a year later, and I'm going to get that match-up,' de Minaur said. 'But still, it was a brutal time for me last year, having to deal with all those emotions. [I'm] feeling good, ready to go, and I'm going to get my chance again, so I'm excited for that.' A lot has happened in between. De Minaur ascended to a career-high No.6 in the rankings after his 2024 Wimbledon run, but the hip setback had wide-ranging repercussions, from costing him playing singles at the Olympics to spending months on the sidelines. He somehow extended his grand slam quarter-finals streak at the US Open, but Brit Jack Draper mercilessly thrashed a clearly compromised de Minaur. His hip has long recovered, and he made a maiden quarter-final at the Australian Open in January – but a second-round loss at Roland-Garros in May prompted him to reveal he was suffering from mental fatigue and needed a tennis detox. The 26-year-old tumbled out of the top 10 ahead of this year's Wimbledon championships, and lost his only match on grass in straight sets, so expectations were modest. A friendly draw helped de Minaur advance to the round of 16 for the second straight year, with his opening three opponents' combined average ranking a lowly 127. Djokovic will be a significant rise in class. What the numbers say Both players dropped just one set on their way to the fourth round, but Djokovic's serve stands out. The Serbian superstar has hit 49 aces to the Australian's 12, his first-serve percentage shades de Minaur comfortably (73 per cent to 54), and he is winning 84 per cent of those points to de Minaur's 80. Djokovic has dropped serve only once – at his first attempt to complete his win over Miomir Kecmanovic in the previous round – whereas de Minaur's been broken four times. Loading De Minaur's ability to protect his serve will likely determine his fate, but he will fancy his chances of denting Djokovic's serving dominance, given he is the ATP Tour's leading returner statistically across the past year. Djokovic is 14th in the same metric. De Minaur has converted 15 of his 42 break points (36 per cent) at Wimbledon this year, while Djokovic has broken 19 times from 53 chances (36 per cent). There has been a gradual decline in de Minaur's first-serve percentage across the years as he takes more risks searching for power and cheaper points. Winning 80 per cent of first-serve points this fortnight is a great result. But occasionally, his percentage sinks dramatically, including landing only nine of 27 on his first ball in the opening set against Arthur Cazaux in the second round. That is the sole set de Minaur lost. He made only 42 per cent of first serves in his most-recent match against Djokovic in Monte-Carlo last year – and that won't cut it. Loading De Minaur has picked his spots well to come to the net, particularly in his past two wins over August Holmgren and Cazaux, where he won a combined 37 of 42 points (88 per cent) in that part of the court. But Djokovic has also been dominant at the net, where he is winning 80 per cent of points for the tournament. What they said Alex de Minaur: 'Novak has completed the game. He's broken all the records. It's amazing for him to still be showing up and still showing that fire and desire to win more. He's a player who can find motivation and fire from anything – and that's extremely dangerous. You don't want to give him something to get motivated about because then you'll definitely see his absolute best side.' Novak Djokovic: 'Alex has improved his game tremendously in the last couple of years. He's playing the tennis of his life. He's definitely knocking on the door of the final stages of grand slams. You're not super excited to play Alex de Minaur on grass, that's for sure, because he's so quick, and he's a complete player. He has gained pace on his serve as well. He hits his spots very well. [I'm expecting] a very tough challenge. I'm looking forward to it. I think it's going to be a great test to see where my game is at against a top player like Alex.' Demon v Djoker match-ups 2023 Australian Open R4 (hardcourt) Novak Djokovic d Alex de Minaur 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 How Demon reflects: 'Obviously, that first one we played was a whitewash. He was way too good, and I had no answers for him.' 2024 United Cup quarter-finals (hardcourt) Alex de Minaur d Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-4 How Demon reflects: 'It was an incredible moment to be able to overcome that previous result and actually finish on top. That was a huge stepping stone in my career and my confidence levels because the feeling I had after that first time we played wasn't great, and I was able to overcome that.'
Sydney Morning Herald
11 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Rocky waters ahead for Brisbane 2032's Olympic rowing plan
'...The main issue for rowing is fairness, so obviously if there's stream, typically the deeper or the middle section of the river is going to flow faster than the sides of it,' Rowing Australia chief executive Sarah Cook told me in March. 'Because a rowing course is eight to 10 lanes wide, it would make the middle lanes faster than the outside lanes, which is why it can't be used for an Olympic regatta or a Paralympic regatta, because it would be unfair for the competitors.' The minister responsible for Olympic infrastructure, Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie, repeated the clearly workshopped 'Pierre from Paris' line at last week's Queensland Media Club lunch, where the new intergovernmental funding agreement was announced. Dismissing rowing's concerns, Bleijie pointed to the 2028 Olympic rowing venue as a justification for Rockhampton's controversial candidature. 'In LA, the rowing facility does not meet the International Olympic Committee requirements – it's too short,' he said. 'But you know what they did? They just said, for LA it'll be OK and they signed off on it. So they do bend the rules for other venues.' For Rowing Australia life member and historian Andrew Guerin, Los Angeles was a poor comparison to make. 'The 2028 LA course is probably the worst ever used as it is shorter than normal and subject to tidal streams. All racing will have to held on the turn of high tide to minimise the impacts,' he said. 'Rocky is one step worse combining, as I understand, both stream and tide. I've got no idea how that can be managed.' Guerin said the Rocky course had little by way tide and stream mitigation, which made it difficult to control and create a fair course. And it's also prone to flooding. At the Queensland Media Club event on Thursday, Bleijie described the Fitzroy River surface as a 'mirror'. But, last August, the planned State School Championships in Rockhampton had to be relocated due to heavy rain and flash flooding. The 2032 Olympics will be held from July 23 to August 8 – about the same time of year. It's a risky choice. As Olympic Games executive director Christophe Dubi said during a May visit to Brisbane, the decision on whether to host rowing on the Fitzroy will ultimately not be the government's to make, but World Rowing. 'No one else than the federation can say 'field of play ready',' he said. While political hypocrisy is about as common as gambling in a casino, it's always good to call out. Before the election, Crisafulli and his LNP colleagues repeatedly promised to take the politics out of planning and listen to the experts. So what did the people with expertise say about the Fitzroy River? 'This option was not progressed on the basis of insufficient space for field of play and warm-up, inadequate onshore space and access road upgrade requirements, as well as limited accommodation options for athletes and officials,' the Games Independent Infrastructure and Co-ordination Authority determined in its 100-day review. The Crisafulli government ignored GIICA, running roughshod over decision-making process and overseeing the most nakedly political Games decision since Brisbane won hosting rights in 2021. The LNP claimed the electorate of Rockhampton at last year's state election, and holds it with a margin of less than 2 per cent. If you don't think that played a role in the Crisafulli government's decision, then I'd be happy to sell you the Fitzroy Bridge. Crisafulli quite rightly criticised the former Labor government's Olympic mismanagement, from Annastacia Palaszczuk's ill-informed captain's call to rebuild the Gabba to Steven Miles' embarrassing QSAC gambit. But by repeating the same mistakes, albeit on a far less consequential scale, the LNP has demonstrated it's just as willing to play politics with the Olympic Games as its predecessors.
