Page 20 - ARUBA TODAY

A20 SPORTS
Tuesday 24 July 2018
RYAN LOCHTE that Lochte "fully cooperat- no longer can be found
Continued from Page 17 ed" with according to U.S. on his Instagram page. He
He said the IV contained officials. reiterated Monday that
B-12 and other vitamins "Lochte received an in- he wants to compete in
that could be purchased travenous infusion of per- the 2020 Tokyo Olympics,
at any pharmacy. mitted substances at an though those hopes would
He and his wife both got IV infusion clinic," the USADA seem to be in at least some
infusions in Gainesville, Flor- announcement of the sus- doubt now.
ida, he said, to bolster their pension said. Under most "I should know better,"
immune systems. circumstances, athletes Lochte said. Lochte spent
"I've been swimming my cannot receive IVs unless much of his career por-
whole life and I've been related to a hospitalization traying a party-boy image,
monitored by USADA for or when allowed under while his wildly successful
my entire competitive ca- the terms of a USADA-ap- exploits in the pool — six
reer," Lochte said. "I have proved exemption — and In this Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016, file photo, United States' Ryan Olympic golds, 36 world
Lochte checks his time in a men's 4x200-meter freestyle heat at
never taken a prohibited Lochte fell into neither of the 2016 Summer Olympics, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. championship gold med-
substance. I have never those categories. Associated Press als, no fewer than four
attempted to gain any ad- Suspensions for use of an IV world records — were al-
vantage over my compe- are extremely rare: The USA- a significant step forward that a court there recently ways overshadowed by 28-
tition by putting anything DA database shows only for Lochte, who was en- decided that he could still time Olympic medalist and
illegal in my body. I would two other athletes being tered in four events at the face prosecution for filing a 23-time Olympic champion
never do that." sanctioned for using such a U.S. championships at Ir- false report. Michael Phelps. After Rio,
In Brazil, he there were method, one of them get- vine, California and was Lochte was not only sus- Lochte was dropped by at
questions about his version ting a six-month suspension preparing to compete in pended 10 months for that least four major sponsors
of what happened. and the other a 14-month what would have been his debacle, but also forfeited including Speedo USA and
This time, he revealed what ban, just like Lochte. That biggest competition since $100,000 in Olympic med- Ralph Lauren, though he
happened — obviously un- same database shows that the Rio Games. Lochte said al bonus money and was has added some endorse-
aware of the ramifications before Monday, no other that he and three other U.S. banned from competing ment deals since. He was
it would bring. U.S. swimmer in the last 10 Olympic swimmers there in last year's national and also apparently targeted
Lochte's violation came to years, for any reason in- were robbed at gunpoint world championships. by two men wearing t-shirts
light when he posted the cluding actual positive at a gas station, a story that And now, he's back in hot bearing an anti-Lochte
photo of him getting the tests, had been suspended quickly unraveled. water. USADA agreed to message rushed the stage
IV on his social media ac- for more than one year by The investigation in Brazil start the 14-month clock while he was competing
counts. That triggered the USADA. is continuing, and Lochte on May 24, the day that on ABC's "Dancing with the
USADA investigation, one This week could have been said it's "concerning" to him he posted the photo that Stars."q