Canadian swim star Penny Oleksiak denies drug use, says she'll keep training despite 2-year suspension

A two-year suspension from competitive swimming has forced Penny Oleksiak to answer questions about drug use, train by herself in public pools and defend her legacy as Canada’s most decorated female Olympian.

It’s a legacy she is determined to continue at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics despite the penalty she must serve.

In an exclusive interview with CBC Sports, the 25-year-old Toronto athlete, now based in Los Angeles, denied she has ever used performance-enhancing drugs, and said that the suspension handed down on Nov. 25 was merely the result of scheduling oversights.

“It's never been me to do performance-enhancing drugs or even think about doing performance-enhancing drugs,” she said.

But she does accept full responsibility for the predicament she finds herself in.

”First and foremost, I'm sorry that this happened. It wasn't something I ever wanted to happen. It wasn't something I ever expected to happen. I did do something wrong at the end of the day, and it's something that I do have regret around,” she said. 

Oleksiak was suspended in late November by World Aquatics for what the organization terms “whereabouts” violations — essentially Oleksiak was not where she said she would be for her daily 60-minute availability window for testing.

She said despite those missed tests, she gets tested often throughout the season. 

Explaining whereabouts rules for athletes after swimmer Penny Oleksiak's ban | Hanomansing Tonight

“They show up at your house to do bloodwork and urine tests and everything. And in between those three tests that I missed, I was being tested on various occasions, whether at meets or at home,” Oleksiak added. 

Oleksiak said she wasn’t even sure if she had one or two strikes against her when the third