Australian swimmer Napoleon gets 3-month ban

Australian swimmer Ryan Napoleon has been ordered to serve a three-month doping ban and miss the CWG.

Lausanne: Australian swimmer Ryan Napoleon has been ordered to serve a three-month doping ban and miss the Commonwealth Games even though FINA accepted that his failed test was not his fault.

FINA’s doping panel accepted that Napoleon tested positive for the banned drug formoterol last year because a pharmacist wrongly labeled an asthma inhaler. “It is clear that the swimmer had no intention of enhancing his sports performances,” the governing body said today in a statement.However, the panel suspended him for three months through November 20 after it “took into consideration the degree of negligence.” “The doping panel underlines the responsibility of the athlete to check his medicine,” FINA said. Australia selected Napoleon to swim the 400- and 1,500-meter freestyle at the Commonwealth Games, scheduled for Oct. 3-14 in New Delhi.Napoleon can appeal the ruling to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. PTI