Why is Canadian swimmer Markus Thormeyer banned? Real reason explored

Markus Thormeyer was barred from competing last year due to a failed drug test, Canadian authorities said.

However, as Thormeyer voluntarily agreed to a provisional suspension on February 15, 2022, his ban will terminate on February 14.

On January 19, 2022, his urine sample included SARM LGD-4033, a medication used to treat muscular weakness and atrophy brought on by aging.

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Canadian Swimmer Markus Thormeyer was banned in 2022

Earlier in February 2022, he agreed to a temporary ban, and after arbitration, it was determined that he had unintentionally consumed the illegal chemical. Thormeyer drank from a water bottle that his companion had used that had been tainted with the harmful drug, which is how the SARM got into his system.

Markus Thormeyer and the Canadian Anti-Doping program presented arguments in favor of a 12-month suspension during an arbitration hearing on October 5.

He was found to have "no major faults or carelessness" as a result, which allowed him to escape the required punishment listed by CCES for the "first violation of the non-intentional presence of specified substances: two years (10.2.2)."

The tribunal based its decision on the athlete's absence from past doping violations, his support for the LGBTQ community and his Ph.D. coursework.

Markus Thormeyer at the Commonwealth Games - Swimming - Day 2

Thormeyer was not qualified to represent Swimming Canada in any competition at the time. He stated during his evidence to the anti-doping tribunal that he had experienced burnout following the Tokyo Olympics and had planned to take a break from swimming at least until the summer of 2022.

The arbitration for Markus Thormeyer was presented in early October and was signed on November 9, 2022.

On February 14, 2023, the 10-day term of the two-time Olympian's ineligibility will come to a conclusion. The Canadian Center for Ethics in Sports (CCES) made the news in a statement on Friday.

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Markus Thormeyer's life and career

Markus Thormeyer, a Canadian competitive swimmer who is 25 years old and was born on August 25, 1997, excels in freestyle and backstroke.

Thormeyer, who is originally from Delta, relocated to Vancouver, British Columbia in 2015 after finishing high school so that he could train at the High-Performance Centre-Vancouver. He is studying environmental sciences at the University of British Columbia in addition to swimming.

As numerous younger swimmers emerged behind him, Thormeyer was one of the stars of the Canadian program throughout the 2016 and early 2021 Olympic cycles.

In 2016 and 2017, he earned relay gold at the World Championships (short- and long-course, respectively). He won bronze at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in the 100-meter backstroke. In 2018 and 2019, he was named Male Swimmer of the Year by Swimming Canada.

The talented swimmer competed in the 400-meter free relay team that advanced to the Olympics' final in 2016. At the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, he failed to get through the preliminaries in the 100-meter backstroke and was placed 16th in the 200-meter backstroke.

He competed for Canada's 400-meter freestyle relay team, which finished fourth in the finals and set a new national record.