Romanian gymnast and Olympic bronze medallist Ana Maria Barbosu has been handed a two-year suspension for violating anti-doping whereabouts requirements, raising questions about her participation in future international competitions, including the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
According to the British news agency, the Anti-Doping Division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) announced its decision on Wednesday, ruling that the 20-year-old gymnast had committed three whereabouts failures between September and December 2025.
The violations involved failing to provide accurate information about her whereabouts and being unavailable for scheduled anti-doping testing.
The two-year suspension has been backdated to May 5, 2026, the date her provisional suspension began. As a result, Barbosu is expected to become eligible to return to competition in May 2028, subject to any possible appeal.
Her suspension is scheduled to end approximately two months before the start of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
Under international anti-doping regulations, selected athletes must provide their daily location and specify a one-hour time slot during which they can be reached for unannounced drug testing. Three whereabouts failures within a 12-month period can result in a two-year suspension, although the circumstances and degree of the athlete’s fault are also considered.
Barbosu had challenged the proposed disciplinary action and requested a formal hearing before CAS’s Anti-Doping Division. However, the judge concluded that all three whereabouts violations recorded between September and December 2025 had been properly established.
The court partially upheld the application filed by World Gymnastics. However, Barbosu’s competition results achieved after December 2025 will not be disqualified.
Meanwhile, Barbosu is also involved in a separate legal dispute concerning the bronze medal she won in the floor exercise at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
American gymnast Jordan Chiles is also a party to the case. Switzerland’s Federal Supreme Court previously referred the medal dispute back to the Court of Arbitration for Sport for reconsideration.
According to CAS, the parties involved have requested that no hearing take place before May 2027, while written proceedings will continue in the meantime.
With a two-year suspension now imposed and the Paris Olympic bronze medal dispute still unresolved, Barbosu faces two significant challenges in her sporting career ahead of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
