Breezy Johnson Accepts 14 Month Ban For Whereabouts Rule Violation

USADA has announced that Breezy Johnson, of Victor, Idaho, an athlete in the sport of skiing, has accepted a 14-month ban for committing three Whereabouts Failures within a 12-month period.

At the time of the Whereabouts Failures, Johnson, 28, was included in the USADA Registered Testing Pool (RTP), which consists of a select group of elite athletes subject to certain Whereabouts requirements in order to be located for out-of-competition testing. Within a 12-month period, Johnson accrued three Whereabouts Failures: the first on October 29, 2022, the second on June 13, 2023, and the third on October 10, 2023.

The accumulation of three Whereabouts Failures within a 12-month period constitutes a rule violation under the USADA Protocol for Olympic and Paralympic Movement Testing, the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee National Anti-Doping Policy, and the International Ski and Snowboard Federation Anti-Doping Rules, all of which have adopted the World Anti-Doping Code. The period of ineligibility for Whereabouts rule violations ranges from one year to two years depending on the athlete’s degree of fault. In this case, USADA determined that a 14-month period of ineligibility was appropriate because Johnson’s degree of fault was relatively low given the circumstances of the case.

Johnson’s 14-month period of ineligibility began on October 10, 2023, the date of her third Whereabouts Failure. In addition, Johnson has been disqualified from all competitive results achieved on and subsequent to October 10, 2023, including forfeiture of any medals, points, and prizes.

Born in Jackson, Wyoming, Johnson grew up in nearby Victor, Idaho, and made her World Cup debut in December 2015. In her first World Cup season in 2017, she finished eighteenth in the downhill standings. At the World Cup finals in March at Aspen, Johnson crashed in the downhill and suffered a tibial plateau fracture to her left leg. Johnson quickly recovered from this injury and in the 2018 season she finished eleventh in the downhill standings and competed in the Winter Olympics, finishing seventh in the downhill and fourteenth in the super-G.

While training in Chile in September 2018, Johnson partially tore her right anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and missed the 2019 season.[6][7] After returning to snow, she tore her left posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) and medial collateral ligament (MCL) in her left knee in training in June 2019.

She returned to the World Cup circuit in January 2020 with a 25th in the downhill at Altenmarkt and consecutive top tens at Bansko. Her first World Cup podium came in December 2020 at a downhill in Val d'Isère, France.

She qualified to represent the United States at the 2022 Winter Olympics, but was injured and did not compete.

Accurate Whereabouts information is crucial for effective out-of-competition testing, which helps deter and detect doping by enabling no-notice sample collection. This is especially important because some prohibited substances have limited detection windows. In an effort to aid athletes, as well as support team members such as parents and coaches, in understanding the rules applicable to them, USADA provides comprehensive instruction on its website on the testing process and prohibited substances, how to file and update athlete Whereabouts, how to obtain permission to use a necessary medication, and the risks and dangers of taking supplements, as well as performance-enhancing and recreational drugs.

In addition, USADA manages a drug reference hotline, Global Drug Reference Online (www.GlobalDRO.com), conducts educational sessions with National Governing Bodies and their athletes, and distributes a multitude of educational materials, such as an easy-reference wallet card with examples of prohibited and permitted substances, a supplement guide, a nutrition guide, an clean sport handbook, and periodic alerts and advisories.

USADA makes available a number of ways to report the abuse of performance-enhancing drugs in sport in an effort to protect clean athletes and promote clean competition. Any tip can be reported using the USADA Play Clean Tip Center, by text at 87232 (“USADA”), by email at playclean@USADA.org, by phone at 1-877-Play Clean (1-877-752-9253) or by mail.

USADA is responsible for the testing and results management process for athletes in the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Movement and is equally dedicated to preserving the integrity of sport through research initiatives and educational programs.