Hungarian swimmer Nikolett Szepesi has been served a one-year anti-doping suspension by FINA for failing to comply with rules regarding retirement, reinstatement and the need to show up for out of competition testing in the period leading up to a reinstatement.
The rules that she infringed, DC 5.5.2 and DC 2.4, are there to prevent a swimmer retiring, using banned substances that could enhance performance and then, having benefitted from those substances while training in retirement, returns to the race pool with form heightened and no anti-doping tests provided.
There is no suggestion that Szepesi took doping nor that she intended to break the o-o-c rules - but break those rules she did, says FINA. The suspension came into force on January 22. FINA states: "All competitive results obtained by the swimmer from 22nd January 2009 shall be disqualified with all of the resulting consequences including forfeiture of any medals, points and prizes."
Szepesi raced at the European s/c championships of Rijeka 2008, retired, then returned post-Rome 2009 world champs in time for the European showcase event once more in Istanbul, 2009. That it what the FINA ruling, without pointing out the details, suggests.
In Istanbul, the Hungarian finished 16th in the 50m backstroke, 12th in the 100m backstroke and 6th in the 200m backstroke, on 2:04.68. In Rijeka a year earlier, she finished 11th in the 200m, on 2:07.76.
The swimmer's failure to meet the requirements of anti-doping rules governing no-shows during periods of reinstatement will deprive her of a chance to compete at a home European Championships this summer in Budapest.
