Breaking: Canadian Olympic Medalist Alysha Newman Handed 20-Month Ban for Missed Drug Tests

Canadian pole vaulter Alysha Newman, a bronze medalist at the 2024 Paris Olympics, has been suspended for 20 months after missing three doping tests in a 12-month span.

The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) announced the ban Friday, citing three “whereabouts failures” missed or unannounced testing windows between February and August 2025. Under global anti-doping rules, athletes must specify a one-hour period each day when they are available for sample collection.

Newman, 31, missed her first test on February 27, 2025. Two more followed in August 2025  on the 17th and 23rd.

The third missed test came with a striking explanation. According to the AIU’s published verdict, Newman told a sample collection official that “she had to leave immediately to participate in the filming of a television game show. “

Investigators also noted that during the first incident, Newman reportedly blamed a missing car key.

The standard penalty for three whereabouts failures in a 12-month period is a two-year ban. However, the AIU reduced Newman’s suspension to 20 months, saying it accepted that the athlete had decided to end her pole vaulting career. The unit called that decision “a sufficiently unique/exceptional factor” when assessing her level of fault.

Her suspension is retroactive to December 3, 2025, and expires in August 2027. All of her competitive results dating back to August 23, 2025, have been disqualified.

Newman, who also won gold and bronze at the Commonwealth Games and bronze at the Pan American Games, has not competed since May 2025. She has pushed back against the ruling, posting defiant messages on social media about her “freedom of choice.”

The ban is the latest controversy involving Team Canada athletes in early 2026. Canadian curlers were recently accused of “double-touching” stones at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, while the country’s skeleton team was found to have manipulated a Lake Placid race to protect Olympic qualification points.

Newman’s case, while separate from those Winter Games incidents, adds to a growing list of Canadian athletes under the microscope for rule violations across multiple sports.