American alpine skier Breezy Johnson banned for 14 months for violating anti-doping rules

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado – Downhill skier Breezy Johnson has been banned for 14 months for three anti-doping rule violations and will not be allowed to race until December.

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency published its decision Monday night regarding Johnson’s failure to comply with whereabouts rules. They force athletes to detail where they can be found for an hour a day to hand over a sample without prior notice.

Athletes will be banned for up to two years if they commit three violations in a 12-month period, such as missing tests or failing to update precise details of their location.

The failures in Johnson’s whereabouts occurred on Oct. 29, 2022, then June 13, 2023, and Oct. 10, 2023, USADA said. A seven-time podium finisher in World Cup races, she left the circuit in December while under investigation.

USADA said 14 months was an appropriate suspension for Johnson, 28, because his “degree of culpability was relatively low given the circumstances of the case.”

Johnson did not race in the World Cup last season and is not scheduled to miss any races next season in its specialized downhill and super-G events before the ban expires on December 9.

“I apologize to my fans for disappointing them and not being able to race last season,” Johnson wrote on social media, adding “I made a human error and am paying the consequences.”

“See you at Birds of Prey,” she wrote, referring to her scheduled return to racing in Beaver Creek, Colorado, on December 14-15.

USADA’s decision can be challenged by the World Anti-Doping Agency and the International Ski and Snowboard Federation on appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Johnson’s racing career peaked in a year-long period until December 2021, when she achieved three runner-up finishes and four third-place finishes in World Cup downhills.

She missed the 2022 Beijing Olympics due to a knee injury she sustained three weeks before the games.

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