Boholana Olympian accepts two-year ban for whereabouts violation

Noah Barro

Boholana Olympian weightlifter Vanessa Sarno has accepted a two-year ban issued by the International Testing Agency (ITA) on August 26 for an anti-doping whereabouts violation not related to substance abuse.

The ITA said the sanction stemmed from Sarno’s failure to file three required location reports within a 12-month period, which occurred while she was pregnant. Under anti-doping rules, this constitutes a violation. 

Sarno did not contest the charge and agreed to the penalty.

“Vanessa Sarno committed three whereabouts failures within 12 months. The athlete did not challenge the ADRV and agreed with the consequences proposed by the ITA,” the agency said in a statement.

All of Sarno’s results from January 1, 2025, through the start of her suspension will be disqualified, including forfeiture of medals, points and prizes. Her ineligibility runs until August 3, 2027, barring her from International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) competitions.

Samahang Weightlifting ng Pilipinas president Monico Puentevella defended Sarno, clarifying that her missed filings were due to pregnancy and unrelated to performance-enhancing drugs.

“She was not able to report her whereabouts every quarter because of her pregnancy,” Puentevella told the Inquirer.

The 21-year-old Sarno, long seen as a successor to Olympic champion Hidilyn Diaz, will miss the Southeast Asian Games in Thailand as well as the qualifying tournaments for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Puentevella added that Elreen Ando could step in as the Philippines’ bet for the next Olympic cycle.