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PARIS (AP) — The governing body of swimming has banned Olympic bronze medalist Yuliya Efimova for 16 months for doping and voided her 50-meter breaststroke world record.
FINA's anti-doping panel says the Russian did not intend to cheat and so didn't warrant the usual two-year ban for a first doping offense.
The ban has been backdated to Oct. 31, the day she provided the urine sample that tested positive for the steroid DHEA. Efimova says she ingested the steroid in a nutritional supplement.
The panel stripped Efimova of all her competitive results since then, including her short-course world record of 28.71 seconds set on Nov. 10 in Tokyo.
Efimova, who won the bronze medal in the 200 breaststroke at the 2012 London Olympics, can return to competition on March 1.
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