Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte banned 14 months for IV infusion

USA TODAY Sports

They say a picture's worth a thousands words, and for Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte, it's much, much more.

Lochte has been suspended for 14 months after receiving an intravenous infusion without a therapeutic use exemption, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency announced Monday.

The 12-time Olympic medalist posted a photo of himself on social media May 24 receiving an IV infusion. USADA said Lochte cooperated fully with its investigation, which revealed he received permitted substances at an infusion clinic in a volume greater than 100 mL in a 12-hour period. He didn't have a therapeutic use exemption (TUE).

Lochte, 33, was expected to be one of the big names swimming at this week's national championships in Irvine, Calif. The four-time Olympian has been training with hopes of making the Olympic team in 2020.

He said the IV contained mostly B-complex vitamins, products that he said could be purchased at any pharmacy, according to the Associated Press. Lochte said he took the IV because his wife and his son were ill, and that he didn’t want to get sick.

“A rule is a rule and I accept that there is a technical violation,” Lochte said, according to AP. “I am hopeful that other athletes learn from my mistake.”

USADA prohibits IV infusions or injections in a volume greater than 100 mL within a 12-hour period unless it's a situation that requires hospital treatment, surgical procedures, or clinical diagnostic investigations under USADA protocol. IV infusions or injections in excess of 100 mL within a 12-hour period received in any other setting require an approved TUE.

If an athlete receives a prohibited substance intravenously or through injection, a TUE is required for the substance regardless of volume.

Lochte's suspension is retroactive to May 24 and would end in July 2019.

The swimmer was suspended after the 2016 Olympics for his role in a gas station incident that dominated headlines and cast a shadow over the Games in Rio de Janeiro. After a night out partying, Lochte embellished a story about a skirmish at a gas station. An investigation showed that, while Lochte did exaggerate when he said in a TV interview that security guards had put a gun to his forehead, he and three teammates were threatened by guards.

He lost sponsors over the ordeal and was suspended by USA Swimming for 10 months, returning to competition in August of 2017.

Last month Lochte was second in the 200-meter individual medley at a TYR Pro Swim Series meet in Santa Clara. It was his first Pro Swim Series meet since before the 2016 Olympics.

In March Lochte visited Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where swim team captain Nicholas Dworet was among the victims killed in a shooting. Lochte met with swimmers and Dworet's parents and dedicated his swims in the 2020 Olympics in Dworet's memory.

Since returning from the Olympics in Rio, Lochte has made many changes to his life. He was a contestant on Dancing with the Stars, got married to Kayla Kae Reid, and the couple had a baby boy they named Caiden in June 2017.

“That completely changed my life and completely changed me,” Lochte said before a swim meet in New York last August. “Honestly the reason why I came back is because of Caiden. There is more I wanted to accomplish in the sport of swimming, but my heart wasn’t there. We found out that we were having a child, and when Caiden was born, I was like, ‘That’s it. That’s what I needed.’ And this spark is a spark I’ve never had in my entire life. I can’t explain it. I’m more driven now than I have ever been.”

Contributing: Associated Press