Canadian Olympic athlete Ruslan Gaziev banned for 18 months for failing to disclose his whereabouts

Canadian anti-doping authority suspends Olympic swimmer from Tokyo 2021 Ruslan Gaziev for 18 months after the 24-year-old Ohio State University graduate reported three “residence violations” last year.

Gaziev’s suspension took effect on December 31, 2023, and will last until May 31, 2025. The 2023 Big Ten 100-meter freestyle champion last competed at Notre Dame in January before skipping the 2024 Big Ten Championships, the NCAA Championships and Canada’s Olympic qualifiers in recent months.

Swimming Canada released a statement Thursday noting that Gaziev said the reporting violations – two missed tests and one failure to report between January and August 2023 – were unintentional and that he cooperated with the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) after learning of his sanction. According to the CCES, he waived his right to a hearing and accepted his punishment in January.

“We have learned that Ruslan did not keep his whereabouts information fully up to date and was therefore unavailable for the required testing,” said Swimming Canada’s CEO. Suzanne Paulin said. “Ruslan explained to us that it was unintentional. Anti-doping regulations are in place to ensure a level playing field for all athletes and we are committed to enforcing and supporting the Canadian Anti-Doping Program (CADP).”

“This is certainly disappointing news for Ruslan, his teammates and all of us at Swimming Canada who know how hard he has worked over the years to compete at an international level,” Paulins added. “Athletes are responsible for providing their residency dates and submitting documentation in a timely manner to avoid such a sanction. We hope this incident serves as a reminder to all athletes of their need to adhere to the CADP and ensure they are compliant.”

Gaziev came to Ohio State in 2018 after placing 6th in the 50m freestyle at the 2017 World Junior Championships. He qualified for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics thanks to his second-place finishes in the 100m freestyle (48.81) and 200m freestyle (1:49.45) at the Canadian Trials. In Tokyo, he swam in the preliminary heats of the 4x100m freestyle relay, where Canada placed 4th in the final.

At the 2022 World Championships, Gaziev won his first world championship medal thanks to his contribution in the preliminary heat to Canada’s silver medal performance in the mixed 4×100 freestyle relay. At the 2022 Commonwealth Games, he won a bronze medal in the same event after also swimming a preliminary heat in the mixed 4×100 freestyle relay. Gaziev also won bronze in the men’s 4×100 freestyle relay at the Commonwealth Games and finished fourth in the individual 100 freestyle, just a few tenths off the podium.

Gaziev had his best collegiate season last year as a senior, winning the Big Ten title in the 100 freestyle (41.38), finishing second in the 200 freestyle (1:31.94) and third in the 50 freestyle (19.20). He finished fourth in the 100 freestyle (40.98) at the 2023 NCAA Championships. Last summer at the 2023 World Championships, he ran 47.58 on the second leg of Canada’s 4×100 freestyle relay to place fourth (3:23.82), a few seconds behind Great Britain (3:21.68), and take bronze.