Francisca Laia

Francisca Laia is a Portuguese sprint canoeist. She competed in the women's K-1 200 metres event at the 2016 Summer Olympics. She is currently serving a four-year ban for doping, effective until 29 May 2029.

Career

On 19 June 2025, the International Testing Agency announced that Laia accepted a four-year ban after an out-of‑competition test, conducted during the 2024 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships on 25 August 2024, detected a DHCMT metabolite. The ITA, acting on behalf of the International Canoe Federation, provisionally suspended Laia on 26 September 2024, and following her acceptance of the charges—under Articles 2.1 and 2.2 of the ICF’s anti‑doping rules—imposed an ineligibility period running from 30 May 2025 to 29 May 2029, with all competitive results from 25 August 2024 onwards disqualified, including the silver medal in the K-2 200 m event alongside Teresa Portela and the bronze medal in the mixed K-4 500 m, both won at the World Championships in Samarkand. The sanction was issued via an agreement on consequences and is subject to appeal before the Court of Arbitration for Sport.