Imagine being 33, in your prime, doing everything right—winning a pair of national titles, racking up medals in the World Cup and European Championships, taking bronze at the 2022 World Wrestling Championships, and even winning the Ivan Yarygin Grand Prix back in 2018. Heading into the Paris Olympics, Khetag Tsabolov was seeded fifth and ranked eighth in the world. Basically, all signs pointed to a serious medal run. But then… boom. Suspension. The reason? Strange, but necessary.

So here’s what went down. FloWrestling’s Christian Pyles recently broke it all down on X, and yeah, it was wild. “It was April when the incident occurred. Tsabolov had a random drug test—like, WADA just showed up at his Serbian estate and wanted to test him,” Pyles said. “Apparently, he evaded them—took off. I don’t know the full details, but he missed the test, and it sounds like he did it on purpose.”

That triggered a violation in wrestling under Article 2.5 of the World Anti-Doping Code, which covers “Falsification”—including evading sample collection or refusing testing. That missed test was enough to raise red flags, and the rumors immediately started flying—was Tsabolov going to get banned from the Olympics?

It turns out that he still has to compete in Paris. And he almost pulled it off. Tsabolov made it all the way to the bronze medal match against Kyle Dake. Pyles added, “With, like, a minute—maybe 90 seconds—left in the match, Khetag Tsabolov was winning. Then Dake made a comeback and ended up getting bronze. Beat Khetag Tsabolov. So, it didn’t really affect anything… but it could have.” But after the Wrestling Games, the International Testing Agency (ITA) completed its investigation, and the ruling came down hard.

On June 28, 2024, Tsabolov was officially handed a six-year ban, meaning he’ll be ineligible to compete until 2030, when he’ll be 39 years old. But this is no rare case when WADA is banning any athlete!

Instances of U.S. wrestling stars facing suspensions for doping violations

There have been instances where U.S. wrestlers faced suspensions for refusing or evading drug tests. One notable example is Stephany Lee. Lee, a U.S. wrestler who won the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials at 72kg in women’s freestyle. However, shortly after her victory, Lee tested positive for marijuana, which led to the forfeiture of her Olympic spot and a one-year suspension. This was her second positive test for a banned substance, the first occurring in 2009. As a result, she was also required to retroactively forfeit any honors and medals from the 2009 Wrestling. Ali Bernard, who was the runner-up at the trials, was named the replacement to represent the United States in the 72kg class at the 2012 Olympics. A

lso, Jordan Burroughs, the 2012 Olympic gold medalist and one of the most celebrated U.S. wrestlers, faced a temporary suspension after testing positive for a prohibited substance in 2015. Although it was a minor violation, Burroughs was given a short suspension from Wrestling but was later reinstated following a review.

So yes, that’s exactly why WADA is so serious about anti-doping testing. Their goal is to ensure fair competition by making sure athletes compete on a level playing field, without the unfair advantage of performance-enhancing drugs. It’s also about protecting athletes’ health, as many banned substances can be harmful to their bodies. By enforcing consistent global standards, WADA maintains the integrity of sports and the trust of fans, ensuring that victories in Wrestling are earned through skill and hard work, not artificial enhancements.