Swimming

Swimming is a sport with significant doping challenges, with 506 registered cases (3.4% of all violations). China leads in violations with 72 cases, while Cannabis is the most frequently detected substance (45 cases). The average suspension length is 24.2 months. Swimming ranks #8 globally among all sports tracked by the Anti-Doping Database..

Number of cases in Swimming Last 10 Years

Federation Internationale de Natation

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Sport Global Ranking
1,493
···
506
Global Ranking: #8 of 178 sports

506

Swimming cases

3.4%

Of all violations

14,670

Total global cases
Swimming's share of all violations 3.4%
506 of 14,670

Swimming has the most violations in anti-doping rule violations globally, with 506 registered cases3.4% of all 14,670 verified cases in the Anti-Doping Database. Ranking in the top 10 globally.

Number of cases in Swimming By Country
Top Country: China

72

China cases

14.2%

Of global cases

506

Total Swimming cases
China's share of Swimming violations 14.2%
72 of 506

China has the most violations in Swimming with 72 registered violations, though cases are more evenly distributed globally. This represents 14.2% of the sport's 506 total cases globally.

The average suspension length for sanctioned Swimming athletes in China is 24.2 months, shorter than the global average of 30.1 months.

Substance use in Swimming
Most Detected Substance: Cannabis

45

Swimming cases

8.9%

Of sport cases

519

Global Cannabis cases
Cannabis's share of Swimming violations 8.9%
45 of 506

Cannabis has the most violations in Swimming with 45 violations out of 506 total cases (8.9%). Though cases are more evenly distributed globally.

Globally, Cannabis has been detected in 519 cases across all sports, ranking #9 among all prohibited substances.

The average suspension length for Cannabis violations is 9.3 months, shorter than the global average of 30.1 months.


Cannabis are one of the most commonly used illicit drugs and can be found within the dried flowers, leaves or resin of the Cannabis plant. Cannabis may also be known as marijuana, pot, hash, ganja, green or weed. It is most commonly smoked but can also be eaten. Cannabis use is most commonly associated with recreational or social settings but regardless of the environment in which it is taken, if it is found in your system on competition day there are serious consequences. Cannabinoids are listed on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List since 1 January 2004. Cannabis not classified as a performance enhancing drug, but is on the Prohibited List because the drug is damaging to the athletes health. According to National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre (NCPIC) in Australia cannabis use can negatively impact on a person's sporting performance in a variety of ways. It is known to increase heart rate while decreasing cardiac stroke volume, resulting in diminished peak performance. It can also result in reduced sport performance through slowed reaction time, problems with motor coordination, hand-eye coordination, and perceptual accuracy. Cannabis can affect appetite and food cravings and potentially undermine body mass and nutrition. Use of cannabis could even be potentially dangerous in sports that rely on quick reactions and fast decision-making. In addition, for some people, cannabis use can cause increased anxiety, panic, nervousness and restlessness thus causing disruption to sleeping patterns. Some people may believe that cannabis use makes them sleep better and be more relaxed and less nervous before playing sport. Currently however, no research has objectively demonstrated that cannabis use results in observable increases in performance through relaxing the athlete or improving their sleeping patterns. In the term of being bad for the athlete health, smoking cannabis exposes the lungs to both carbon monoxide and tar which increase the risks of a range of health problems including respiratory tract infections, bronchitis and lung cancer. (Source: National Cannabis Prevention and Information Centre (NCPIC), Australia, ncpic.org.au)

If you use this statistics, please credit The Anti-Doping Database

Number of Active Sanctions Ending Year for Swimming
Gender Distribution
Male 71.1
360 cases
Female 28.9
146 cases
Analysis: Swimming shows an unusually high proportion of female cases (28.9%) compared to the global average (19.8%), a difference of 9.1 percentage points. Global average: 80.2% male, 19.8% female

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The Anti-Doping Database currently contains 14,670 verified anti-doping rule violations across all sports and all countries, and is updated regularly.