Six-time Olympic gold medallist swimmer Ryan Lochte has been suspended for 14 months for receiving an intravenous infusion of a permitted substance without a therapeutic use exemption, the US anti-doping agency (USADA) said on Monday.
Lochte, who was expected to compete at this week’s national championships in California, posted a photo of himself on social media in May that depicted himself receiving the infusion, which triggered the USADA investigation.
USADA said in a statement that Lochte was not using a banned substance but that it prohibits such infusions or injections in excess of 100 mL within a 12-hour period unless received in the course of hospital treatment, surgical procedures or clinical diagnostic investigations.